Wolf RPG

Tail found it difficult to slow down; she knew her goals, and wanted to waste no time in reaching them. It seemed there could be a place for her in the eastern Wilds, but her sister had told her of the great mountains that tore up through the earth. Before she settled on anything, the young Blackthorn at least wanted to see that — and not just in the distance, but up close and personal.

It was warmer than it had been the last few days, and humid; perhaps that was what caused the thick fog to roll in. It was patchy, only clinging to territories that had more to offer than flat grassland. As she angled her travels toward the west, Tail noted that a small forest ahead seemed a bit more foreboding than she imagined it usually did. Did autumn always steal light from the world like this? Make everything seem darker?

Oddly (or perhaps not), the yearling liked the way it made her guardhairs raise. She decided she could afford the small detour in the name of a good scare— she trusted that nothing truly bad could happen, and she didn't believe in ghosts like her more cloud-headed sister did— and entered the glade like she owned the place.

It was dark, the bright leaves blocking out the sun, and the fog kept the ground shrouded from sight. Still, Tail was not deterred, and she happily romped through the trees as mists swirled around her limbs. After a few moments of this, her neck tingling in a scary-but-nice sort of way, Tail suddenly felt her heart drop from her chest to belly.

Hundreds of glowing eyes were surrounding her, bright points in the mist. Dark shapes lay behind them, though she couldn't make out what sort of creatures they belonged to. Her body instantly tensed, ears going back, and lips peeled back over her teeth...

He felt settled. He had established a sort of routine at home: checking on the caches to discard the inedible and stash fresh fish and game, refreshing scent markers on the borders, and socializing with packmates. It felt almost strange to him, to have this pattern in which he lived his life after having spent so much time without any kind of pattern at all. He was content in this, but nevertheless felt the need to wander. Fortunately, he was an outrider by trade and so he could cater to these desires while still tending to his duties. He made it his mission that morning to explore some of areas surrounding the hollow.

He made note of the few herbs his companion had showed him as he passed them, and kept a log of the different prey scents as he encountered them. If ever the hollow could not provide, knowing where else to look would be important. While he was cataloging these points of interest, he crossed the trail of an unfamiliar female. The pack was almost full, but there was still room for two more, and so he followed her.

Her trail led into a shadowy glade ripe with the scent of fox, but he was unconcerned with those skittish creatures and kept on the other wolf's trail. He found her standing still. Unaware that she was staring at glowing eyes or that she was tensed and defensive, he bounded toward her without pause, chirping an enthusiastic "hello!" as he came up behind her.

She wasn't prepared for a voice at her ear, and without hearing the word, Tail acted on pure instinct. The yearling spun, teeth gnashing with a snarl of warning as she skidded backwards. It took one heartbeat, two, before the yearling realized what she was looking at. A wolf; white with an oddly blue nose, but a living and breathing wolf. Her guard did not drop completely, but her body relaxed visibly. She laughed, despite the potentially tense situation, then said, I'm sorry. I thought you were a ghost.

Knowing how stupid that sounded, considering she didn't even believe in such things, Tail laughed again. Shit, I don't know what's gotten into me. Her posture then relaxed into submission, as the youth did her best to appear non-threatening. I'm Tail, and I mean no harm.

He did not expect the response he received and was quick to backpedal with ears flat and eyes wide. "Whoa," he said, but in the next moment her disposition shifted as she realized that she had been spooked by he and not some terrible creature of the night. A grin spread across his muzzle, and he laughed along with her.

"Oh no worries," he chuckled. "I am quite good at scaring people it seems. I don't even try!" Indeed, this was not the first time he had startled someone, despite his lack of effort in concealing his footsteps and the glaring white of his coat. Once more wondered: how sneaky could he be if he tried? Perhaps wolves were possessed of a sense that knew when they were being stalked; perhaps this was the secret to his accidental success at surprising them: by not sneaking he became sneaky.

He chuckled again, at his own thoughts this time, as she settled into a submissive posture and introduced herself. He adopted a deep, booming voice (as best as he could). "I am Luke. I mean lots of harm." He narrowed his eyes, pursed his mouth and thrust his ears forward, his dancing tail growing stiff. But he could not hold such a charade, he never could, and he broke it by laughing. "I kid I kid. No need for that around me, dear! I was just out an about and thought I'd say hello."

Although she had laughed and shifted to a posture of submission, Tail had remained tense and defensive— although she had reacted purely on instinct, there wasn't much stopping the white male from responding in kind. She did allow herself to relax just slightly as he laughed with her, and more still when he spoke amicably. He brought up a good point, actually— how did she allow herself to be so thoroughly startled? How did she not hear him coming?

She had been too focused on the glowing eyes and dark silhouettes, she supposed, that her mind had filtered out the sounds of someone approaching. That brought her mind back to what had originally spooked her, and she peered back into the fog. The eyes seemed to be gone; perhaps scared off by the scuffle that nearly ensued.

That was when the male adopted his booming voice, introducing himself and intention to harm. Tail immediately returned her gaze to him, dropping closer to the ground in defense— but even as she moved to protect herself, Luke was dropping the charade and laughing once again. She looked at him suspiciously for a moment, wondering if he was intentionally being cruel... but realized swiftly that she was merely being a scaredy cat, and the fellow before her was nothing but good natured.

"I'm new here," she admitted. "I'm not usually this skittish." How embarrassing.

Her shift in posture caused guilt to rise in his breast; he meant only to jest, not to alarm her further. Fortunately, she soon realized that he was nothing but friendly, and she relaxed, admitting to him that she was new to the area and not customarily so nervous. He smiled warmly, softly sweeping his tail from side to side. "Oh no worries," he reassured. "I haven't been here too long myself. I think around five moons or so, but I've never been that skilled at tracking time." He chuckled.

He would not normally allow much pause before launching into his sales pitch and attempting to recruit another wolf to the hollow, but her uncertain demeanor bid him to take it slower. "So what are you up to? Just doing a bit of travelling or are you going to be settling down?"

His reference to the time he had spent here told Tail that he was much older than she was— five moons ago, she had still been in the safety of her family's watch. Five moons ago, she hadn't yet reached her first birthday. Tail didn't mention this, but it did make her feel suddenly young and naive. That thought, she was swift to stuff down and bury.

"I'm looking for someplace to settle," she admitted. "My family's too big to stay there and have any kind of life for myself, and one of my sisters told me of this place. I thought I'd try my luck." Tail shrugged. "If you've been here that long, you must have settled, huh? What's it like in the Wilds?"

She told him she was looking for someplace to settle, and asked him about the Wilds. That was his window, and he bared a toothy grin. "You chose a great spot to sniff out a new home in," he quipped, his tail sweeping from side to side. "The Wilds from what I have seen are abundant in food, shelter, and great company. All you could ever ask for really," he shared enthusiastically. "I've settled in a pack in a quiet hollow northeast of here. It's pretty new, and we've got room for more if you're interested." His ears were lifted and his expression hopeful.

As much as she knew she needed to settle into a pack— and soon, with the seasons changing— Tail had been hoping to shop around before making a decision. She was taken slightly aback at how quickly a home was offered, and she risked meeting his gaze to try and decipher if there was a hidden agenda. He was friendly, and the yearling appreciated that... but her own instincts were territorial and protective, and she couldn't imagine inviting someone without fully vetting them.

"Um," she said lamely, when her effort to glean information through sight alone proved fruitless. "Are you the Alpha?" was her next question; it seemed to make sense, if he was so willing to extend the offer. If he wasn't interested in learning more about her, she could certainly risk being picky in return.

He chuckled softly as he shook his head. "No, but I am one of the founding members," he smiled. He was also the highest ranked among the subordinates, but he was not a wolf that flaunted his position. "I am a close companion to the alpha female, and I serve as her outrider, seeking new recruits and exploring the areas around our home." His tail waved. She seemed curious if nothing else, but rather than overwhelm the girl with a barrage of questions, he gave her the floor to ask more  of her own.

"Are you all family?" she questioned, no longer fazed by the male's friendly nature. Close companion? Either they were related or boning; Tail's limited experience didn't leave her with much awareness of other types of relationships. She wasn't yet old enough to feel much stirring, but she did want a family of her own and did want to be in charge one day. The idea of having a mate that she didn't have to share the helm with tickled her, at least for now. "And you sure make it sound spiffy, but everywhere has its problems..." Or at least she assumed.

"Of course,," he answered swiftly with a genuine smile. It was in his nature to treat most anyone as a friend, and he certainly felt that his pack members were more than that, were family. As did Harlyn, perhaps more so than anyone. She had never spoken of her followers as anything less. "Not by blood," he clarified.

He bobbed his head to her second comment. "It is spiffy," he grinned like a fool, his ears wiggling with the jest. "We are young, and there've been no problems so far." That was not to say there never would be; it was inevitable, it was part of life, and certainly part of a bunch of wanderers coming together to form a unit.

"We'd love to have you, but there's no pressure if you need time. Feel free to stop by the borders anytime and give me a shout if you think you'd like to join us."