Wolf RPG

Steady had been working hard to keep the borders of the pack safe, constantly trotting along them, scent marking, and making sure no wolves crossed into the territory. He found he quite enjoyed the work, though. It kept his mind focused on the pack, and not the fact that he had yet to find his sister. He hadn't left the pack since he got here, and it could be that she had found her own pack and that's why she hadn't showed. He feared he would have to wait until spring to continue his search for her, especially if the snow was heavy here this year.

This afternoon, he elected to patrol the southern borders. His trot was steady, with purpose, his nose to the ground, searching for any scents. He stopped when he found the scent of rabbits. It wasn't what he was looking for, but he played with the notion of tracking them down. The pack hadn't had a decent hunt lately, and some meat would help. Suddenly, a flash of red dashed in front of him, heading out of the pack lands. A fox, most likely after the same thing he thought about going after. Now, though, he had a different prey in mind.

His hind legs kicked, propelling him forward after the intruder. He wouldn't generally attack a fox, but it was in their pack lands, taking their food. It ran faster once it realized he was coming after it, and Steady picked up his pace, as well. Once he crossed the borders, though, he came to a slow stop, assuring the fox was still heading away from the territory. He watched it for a few moments before turning back to continue his patrol.

FitzDutiful had, once again, been doing border patrols. He was focusing on the inner area of the territory, ensuring the any intruders knew they were increasing their risk tenfold but now he was back to the outside area. He slowly trotted again, stopping every so often to mark the border, when he saw his brother running after a red streak. He thought about chasing too, concerned someone had infiltrated them again, when Steady slowed and watched at the borders. He soon continued his patrol and FitzDutiful hastened to catch up to him.

"Hey!" he said when he got closer, smiling to have family within his pack. Even non-blood relatives felt like family to him but there was something extra special about knowing his brother had chosen to stay with him. With a smile, he realised that he hadn't made any effort to spend time with his brother since he had joined the pack. That dampened his smile somewhat. "Have you had chance to meet Zaria, Mason or June yet?" he asked, before hastily adding, "Sorry I never got around to formally introducing you to them." his ears flopped somewhat, showing his true feelings. He was really, really sorry for that.

A familiar voice behind him had him stopping his pace and turning around to see his brother. His tail wagged happily. "Hey!" he replied with a smile. He hadn't seen much of his brother since he joined his pack, but Steady understood there was much to do as a leader, and he didn't hold it against his brother. Steady had been busy, too, protecting the pack and trying to learn how to be a warrior.

Steady nodded quickly, "I've met them all!" he said, his voice clearly expressing his excitement. "Zaria is great! She even sparred with me to help me earn my warrior trade," he said. "June wanted me to help her find a gift for Mason, and Mason and I are going to go around to the neighboring packs and see if we can find a healer and caretaker to help train him." Steady left out the part where Mason had been heartbroken at the time. He had promised his nephew he wouldn't say anything, and he would keep his word.

"How have you been?" he asked his brother. Leading a pack was hard work, Steady knew, and he wanted to make sure his brother was handling it well. He was sure he was, since he had been doing it long before Steady got here.

It seemed Steady had wasted no time in acquainting himself with family and FitzDutiful was grateful for that; true to his name, Steady was the one you could rely on - a pillar of support for anyone who wanted anything. He was so happy to have a brother here, though his face, ears and tail all dropped when Steady asked him how he was. He couldn't hold back the flood of feelings any longer.

"Not so good. I've not talked to Mason since me and Zaria told them we were mated. He took it so horribly and I can't understand why. I thought it was because I was replacing his mother but he, himself, mentioned that I should get a girlfriend and he was so close with Zaria that I thought he would be happy it was her." His eyes looked at his brother, the only one who may understand from a male perspective; pleading with him to share what information he could. "Did Mason say anything to you about it?"

It hurt that Mason was planning on doing things with Steady, when he didn't even come home on nights. They had moved the den but FitzDutiful had made sure June showed Mason where it was. He wanted his son to return home, they had been so close and it was odd that a female had come between them. A female whom FitzDutiful loved with all his heart and he believe Mason had loved too - he didn't realise that it was a romantic love. Neither Mason or June were old enough for that in his eyes.

Steady frowned when his brother confessed he wasn't doing so well. Then, he instantly felt guilty, for he did know why Mason seemed distant from the group. Steady's eyes went downward, aware of the predicament this had put him in. He had promised Mason he wouldn't tell his father his feelings, but Steady was also loyal to his brother. But, then, Fitz didn't exactly ask what Mason had said, just if he had said anything. "Yes, he did say something to me..." he said honestly.

He paused, figuring his brother would want to know what he said, even if he hadn't asked. "I promised him I wouldn't say," he added, frowning. "But... I did talk to him, told him that... that what he was feeling wouldn't last and things would change, for the better... I think he seemed better after we talked." He tried to reassure his brother he thought Mason would be just fine, without betraying his nephew's trust.

He had nothing to say to what Steady had told him, but FitzDutiful felt his heart break into a million pieces. That his son was keeping something from him, something that made him feel upset hurt immensely; but he understood somewhat. His counsellor training helped him emphasise even when he didn't have first hand knowledge. It was also supposed to help his sieve out motives but he was failing to do that in this situation. The real cause wasn't even an item on his list of potential reasons.

"Take care of him," FitzDutiful said, his voice choking as he did. He felt as though he was saying goodbye to his son and maybe his was; in a way. Maybe this was the moment that the grapevine had told him over. The moment you look over and realised that you child doesn't need you any more and that they have their own life they want to live. The moment when they chose to keep you in it or not.

FitzDutiful sniffed once, twice, and then took in a deep breath; determined to keep the tears for later. The heartache had to wait, he couldn't break down now. "So you're wanting to be a warrior then?" he said, forcing a smile as he tried to turn the conversation over to something brighter.

Steady could tell his brother was upset, but he just couldn't bring himself to betray Mason. He could only try to convince Fitz that everything would be okay. You know I would tell you if I thought Mason was in any danger... It's just something he is going through, he said softly. He nodded when Fitz told him to take care of Mason. You know I will, he said.

With nothing else he could say, Steady grew quiet as it seemed Fitz was trying to gather his emotions. Steady reached out his muzzle, nuzzling his brother's neck in comfort. He couldn't imagine being in his paws. Fitz changed the subject, and Steady went with it, nodding his head. Yeah, do you think it suits me? he asked. Zaria even sparred with me, warming up my skills. It had been a while since he had to seriously fight another wolf. He felt like he was good, but knew it was smart to train whenever possible. I think I could even teach you a thing or two, he said with a grin, trying to goad his brother into a spar.

Did a warrior suit his brother? Who could say - it suited him and much as anything else. FitzDutiful had come to realise that although he had known his brother when they were younger, so much had happened since. He didn't really know who he was and it was past time that the two of them got reacquainted. He nodded his head though, knowing full well that there was only really one answer to these kind of questions "I'm sure it does!" he exclaimed before Steady said anything about Zaria, nodding in response to that. Zaria took her warrior work seriously.

"Good luck teaching me anything!" he growled playfully, "Not only do I get to spar with Zaria but I'm a trained warden. I know my defences..." He let his words trail off, picking himself up and waving his rump in the air as though they were children again, playing. "Give it your best shot!" he said, ready to spring in a different direction if Steady launched towards him.

While Steady was a generally loving and gentle wolf, he could turn ferocious when someone he loved was threatened. His size and skills were put to the test when he protecting someone. It wasn't something he liked to do, but it was something that came naturally to him.

He couldn't help the wag his tail gave as his brother talked himself up. It was a little comical to hear the tough words come from his mouth as he acted like a pup with his butt waving in the air as a silent invitation to play wrestle. At his brother's command, Steady leapt off with his back legs, taking a direct approach and attempting to pounce on Fitz, knowing the probability of it succeeding might be low, but it was a start.

Steady launched, as FitzDutiful had expected and so he was ready to move out the way. However, he hadn't anticipated the speed with with Steady flung himself and his move was slow, getting a good whallop on his rump as a reward for his effort. With a playful snarl, FitzDutiful span as he was trained to and prepared to defend himself with a counter attack for Steady's body. He wasn't sure what other trick's his brother would have picked up over the years - let alone what he had learned from Zaria. FitzDutiful hadn't sparred with Zaria too much, but enough to know that her speed and agility were key.

Then again, he was a warden trained. He already had his trade 'badge' and was well on the way to becoming a master in his field. Steady, on the other hand, was knew at it - at least within the Silvertip Mountain pack. He might have practised back at home with the others but for all FitzDutiful knew that was a different style of fighting. He knew expecting to win would be his downfall so he kept his expectations down and his alert levels high.

Steady was a lot of talk, and he could mostly back it up. However, FitzDutiful had more years to practice the art of fighting than he did, and therefore probably had more knowledge on the subject. But, that didn't make Steady any less confident in his own abilities.

He quickly made his first move, bumping his brother on his hind end. It seemed Fitz was fast, though, turning to face him quickly. Steady lowered his head to protect his neck, anticipating a move from his brother. While Steady wasn't generally a prideful wolf, he didn't worry about losing in this situation, since it was his brother, and he had no doubt he could learn something, even if he ended up on his back with Fitz above him.

Slowly, he moved to the side, beginning to circle his leader and brother, looking for a weakness for his next move. Fitz was in his prime, however, and Steady had no knowledge of any injuries, old or otherwise, that he might have. He thought about rearing up, but that would expose his belly. So, he decided to go lower. He moved toward Fitz quickly once again, but this time his open jaws went for his brother's front leg, hoping to grab it.

FItzDutiful expected Steady to go high, most wolves would go for the kill rather than go low so when Steady lunged, FitzDutiful reared. It was a costly move, for Steady's aim for the front leg now landed squarely in his belly. The force of his brother's head in his stomach winded him and he fell heavily onto the floor, hitting a sharp stone at the wrong angle with one of his foot pads, causing it to bleed. It took him a moment to come too and to catch his breath before he managed to choke out any words.

"I obviously," he coughed, "still have things to learn." Another cough before he laughed and attempted to sit upright, licking his wounded paw as he did so. It wasn't the first time the pads of his paw had been damaged, and it wouldn't be the last. Still, the force that Steady had hit him with - with open jaws as well. He wasn't sure what injuries his soft understand now possessed. That was all dependant on whether Steady had instinctively closed his jaws or not.

Steady had momentum in his fake attack, and wasn't ready for Fitz to rear up. It confused him as to why his brother would expose his underbelly, but he didn't have time to think about that. His weight didn't allow him to stop himself quickly, but he was able to close his jaws and try to slide under his brother. His head hit him still, sending his brother backwards.

Steady came to a stop and quickly got to his paws, rushing over to Fitz as he sat up. Are you okay?! he asked, his voice thick with concern. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were going to rear up. I couldn't stop myself, he explained, his expression worried as he looked over his brother.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" he said, coughing but trying to laugh at the same time. Such a rookie mistake for him to make. "I thought you were going for the throat, so I reared to stop that." he was still laughing. He couldn't believe that he had made such a mistake and it had been fortunate to not be more serious. FitzDutiful tried to get his laughter under control, the best he could, before looking over at his brother which set him off again. Now he was laughing more than coughing.

"It's good to have you here." he said, dropping to a serious tone when he had laughed enough that it had left his system.

Fitz insisted that he was fine, and Steady could tell there was laughter coming through his cough, so he relaxed a little, chuckling alongside his brother. He sat back on his haunches, glad that Fitz was okay. He explained why he had reared up, and Steady nodded. Ah, gotcha... But, I already went high the first time, so I wasn't going to do it again, he said. He was a little surprised Fitz had banked on what he thought Steady was going to do, instead of preparing for anything. But, Steady wasn't going to say that. A wolf could afford to make a mistake with someone they trusted, so long as it was learned from. That's what sparring was for, after all.

Fitz' tone turned serious, but Steady's smiled stayed on his face. Me, too, he said. I'm glad Gracious wanted to come look for you. Otherwise, I might have stayed with Mom and Dad forever. While that wouldn't have been a bad thing, he really felt like he belonged here.

Steady explained himself and FitzDutiful nodded along. "On the other hand, I figured since you'd done it once you were expecting me to expect you to go low and therefore go high again." It was a constant game of round about, you try to pre-empt but then you pre-empt their pre-empting and in the end you get all muddled!

Leaving it be, the conversation moved onto better things; "Me too." he said, sincerely, trying not to think that this might mean Mason and June left too. "Hopefully, she'll come along soon." With a stretch, he winced slightly as the sore muscles pulled. "I think I'm going to go walk, so these don't seize up." Laughing slightly, he set off walking back towards Zaria and his den.

Steady could do nothing but smile and shake his head at his brother's explanation. He knew there had to be some kind of planning when in a fight, but too much could get you into trouble, especially when one wolf started assuming the other wolf would do exactly what what it thought it would do.

He nodded in agreement when Fitz said he hoped Gracious would show up. I hope so, too, he said. Little did he know, with the help of a new friend, he would find out that Gracious was, indeed, well and thriving. He chuckled at his brother. Be well... old wolf, he said teasingly. Steady knew Fitz was in his prime, and could whoop his butt if he wanted to. Steady only hoped he could be half the wolf his brother was one day.

With their play time over, Steady moved towards the borders, his intent to continue his patrols and protection of the pack.