Wolf RPG

 

She awoke in the witching hours. The alpha female felt peculiar already... But, more parched than anything else. Tonravik moved toward the nearby stream, her gait tight and uncomfortable. Her stomach had dropped wholly now–the time was near–and the alpha female felt she needed to slake her thirst now, or she would not be able to. The sense she had was that she ought not to leave the whelping den after this. 

It was last call. 

Moving forward, she watched as two bats fought over one insect. An ear flicked; she could hear their high pitch, and it was less than enjoyable. In no time she had arrived at the stream and she began to lap at the waters. The waters here at the Spire were especially cool thanks to the altitude and chill the area had. Her thick furs were no longer so suffocating–the heat had become one less miserable thing to endure. The woman could see the good in the Spine being ravaged as it had been. It was but a place, and most all of them had made it through the trial.

The alpha female moved toward the borders to look them over briefly. She could do little to protect them, but called @Iqniq to join her, or perhaps even @Nanuk wished to join. Tonravik also howled to @Echelon if she were so inclined to come find her. The woman wanted to have a bit more bearing on the protection they had; she could see the land itself protected what was in its depths. Even upon entering the land, she had noted the difficulty; one had to be an advanced mountaineer to navigate around them without becoming bloodied by the sharp edges that threatened to pierce paws unhardened by the terrain. It was something of a labyrinth, and externally, it surrounded the Spire. She smelt wildlife of all sorts... but had yet to differentiate between the many.
Being distracted, she did not even try at this point. Tonravik only assessed the outside world.

Restless in the late hour, Echelon had long been pacing and exploring over what she could feasibly navigate. The Spire certainly had its charm to it, something that was perhaps a touch more befitting to them than the Spine had ever been. But she did not dispute over whether or not a territory was better than another, as all had their advantages and disadvantages. And perhaps truly they would not all of those things, as some were only learned by experience. Others were shown through progress and time. The possibilities remained endless, though there were far from her usual string of thoughts.

Of course, her thoughts were rather empty, up until Tonravik had called out.

And so she made her way there steadily, maybe not at all that far off from where the gravid issumatar lurked. She found her easily only because she wished to be found, and her approach was direct and warm. Gently behind her came the wave of her tail as she wove her smaller frame beneath Tonravik's muzzle, nudging at the corner of her jaw. She had missed her, but had also kept her distance on the urgent note that the life within her was bound and due any moment. Or so it would have seemed, but she hardly knew of these things too.

Preening her aokkatti's fur, her ease was evident. Echelon liked it here.

Echelon soon came to her, to the alpha females delight. As the woman sidled beside her and nudged her, Tonravik pressed back. To her further delight, the other preened at her fur. She was more tolerable of these affections in the throes of pregnancy, it was a peculiar thing. More often than not she admonished others for such gestures, but her hormones were consistent in making her prefer things she might otherwise detest.

Her eyes panned over the earth that jut out unevenly at the borders, perilous and daunting to any outsider. It might even deter one from leaving, so difficult the path promised to be. The woman wouldn't dare step outside the land in her present condition, but that it be so difficult to enter put her mind at further ease. She was sure one attempting to do so could be seen a mile away... if they thought to trespass, it would mean certain death. Tonravik's ears tilted forward as she looked, now, to her aokkatti.

She worked at a troublesome barb tangled in the thick fur of Tonravik, freeing it as though it were truly nothing at all. Even she was aware that normally her aokkatti would have detested the attention, Echelon would not pass up the opportunity. These were things that perhaps she would only do for Tonravik alone, and they did not happen often. But even if it were just a modicum more of comfort to give her before her time, then it seemed like the right thing to do.

All the same, her gaze could not help but follow that of her issumatar, looking to the treacherous span of terrain beyond them. To think that they had come up one of many ways like this did not surprise her. The fact that they all had made it — barring those lost in the storm — did surprise her, however. Truly, perhaps these wolves were befitting of Tartok. But this was a judgment she kept to herself, instead distracted from the view by the subtle shift of attention to her.

Echelon waved her tail behind her, not unlike an obedient puppy.

She half expected for others to come. But when it seemed that they would not, or could not, Echelon snapped her teeth crisply through the air. She wondered after them, but also came to the conclusion that she did not care if they heeded the summons. They may have been willing to serve their leader, but most would not be as dedicated to her as her aokkatti. Truly, Echelon was at Tonravik's disposal today.