Wolf RPG

He was pleased. He had found a place that not only spoke to his heart, but would serve his needs and the needs of his wolves. The land was plentiful of small game in gophers, porcupines and hares, while bighorn sheep and mountains goats could be found in abundance in the higher reaches of the peaks, with moose among the forests and hollows further down. He could want for nothing more, and felt sure of his decision to lay claim here rather than seek a position in the ranks of another pack.

He skirted one of the spring-fed lakes and descended into a hollow, slipping among the trees and startling a woodpecker higher into the boughs of an old pine. Its trunk had a paw-sized hole dug out near the base, a scattering of chips below. The work of the very same bird that now chirped and peered suspiciously at him. He glanced up at it, his eyes taking in the sharp contrast of black and white feathers and the shock of red on its crown, before he moved on. His pace was leisurely as he scouted.

Terich really hated mountains, but if Capri and Tagg wanted to found their pack within the spires of this one, then he would learn how to handle his fear. At least there was ground in their future packland that wasn't mountainous, and that was where Terich would likely make his den. They had yet to see how the area would react to rain or other severe weather, but for now that's where he would sleep. 

The DeMonte scouted the hollows of their claim just as Taggarik did, startling the otherwise peaceful landscape and fauna as he went. However, the birds and squirrels were quick to return to their previous spots as he moved on, seeking out the perfect spot for a densite nestled in the dark hollows of their future home. Ahead he saw a swathe of black and his heart leapt; his alpha, strong and true, was nearby. He barked softly and closed the gap between them with a few long strides. When Terich saw Taggarik ahead, he slowed and crawled beneath the wolf's chest, licking his chin in supplication, before moving back a few yards.

"How goes the scouting, my king?" While it wasn't official quite yet, Terich-mir already saw the other as his alpha and king, and would follow him with Capri by their sides.

He made no effort to conceal his movements, favoring a more efficient stride to explore as much as he could in as little of time, for winter would not wait for him. Snow had already begun to fall, and temperatures were steadily dropping. He knew enough that this ridge would support him and his, but now he worked to lay down a mental map of its features. It would serve him hunting and in guarding the homestead if need be.

He was distracted by a soft bark, and turned to see Terich. Capri had told him that she and her travelling companion would  join him, but he had been trailing behind and was not with her for that announcement. He waved his tail in a friendly greeting, only lifting it above his hindquarters as the gray male approached and submitted to him, in a mutual acknowledgement of their place relative to each other.

"I like this place more with every step I take," he said, his mouth curling into a smile as he gestured for Terich to follow along with him as he resumed his scouting stroll. "How are you finding it? Capri told me you both will be joining me here." But it need not be said. They were both here and the other's submission was enough to tell the black wolf that he accepted him as his leader.

"The ridge is nice. Not as craggy or full of peaks as I expected." When Capri first told him she wanted to live with Taggarik on a ridge, Terich was afraid of the crags and peaks and sheer height of such a thing. But in reality, the ridge was gentler than he expected, and the peaks were much easier to avoid than in his childhood home. Terich hated heights and mountains, but this ridge seemed to be easier to navigate so far. "I don't know if Capri told you, but I've had an aversion to mountains since I was little." Terich wasn't afraid of that making him look weak; every wolf had a past they could not change. What Terich hoped Taggarik saw was his ability to change, to move past his own fears, and conquer them for the sake of the pack.

Terich nodded to his last question. "Aye, we'll be joining you. She wouldn't have it any other way." The grin that split his maw was knowing. Capri wanted to be close tot he most powerful wolf, and who better than Taggarik? She hadn't said anything or hinted that it might be the case, but Terich knew that her time was near, and her dealings with children back at the creek had been enough to tell him that soon she'd want a family. It was instinct that told him this more than any conversation they might have. "How many wolves have you gathered?" he asked softly, stepping into line with Taggarik as he resumed his walk, Terich-mir beside him.

The saying was true that a book could not be judged by its cover. From a distance, the ridge appeared almost inhospitable, its peaks jagged and jutting. But upon closer inspection, one would find the hollows and glens that existed between the ragged edges, the spring-fed lakes, and the dense coniferous forests. It was a prosperous area, one that the black wolf was surprised had not garnered the attention of a pack before him.

He shook his head when Terich commented on his aversion to mountains. He thought nothing of it; the black wolf was not inclined toward the open prairies, but he knew of wolves who would not live any other place. Everyone had a preference, born of their nature or of some past experience. It was his nature that preferred the rugged terrain, the high-up views, and the concealment of thick forests and rocky crags.

Tagg gave a slight nod of his head. "I'm glad to have you. Hopefully the ridge grow son you." He said with a soft chuckle. "I've invited a couple others. One, a hungry-looking yearling turned us down for some reason, but at least one female seemed interested." He hoped she would come by, but he would not hold his breath. "So," he hummed. "You and Capri..." he trailed off with a lift of his brows. The question was implied.

The pair moved off almost perfectly in sync, Terich remaining one or two steps behind Taggarik at all times in deference to his respective rank, though it was still unofficial at this point. Just because they hadn't formally claimed this land didn't mean they didn't belong here, or that Taggarik wasn't its true alpha. Terich-mir thought just the opposite; their band had settled here, however recently, and with each passing day their claim upon he land was strengthened.

Taggarik didn't comment on his fear of mountains, for which Terich was grateful. "If I'm honest, it already has." He smiled softly, nudging the dark wolf's taller shoulder in gentle camaraderie. As they walked, Taggarik spoke of the others that he wished to join them, and Terich's ears perked at that. Another female? As much as Capri wouldn't like that, it might give the other males something to look at besides her, which would make Terich very happy indeed. It was as if Taggarik knew what he was thinking, for he voiced an unspoken question about Terich and Capri's relationship. Terich chuckled and shook his head as they walked. "You flatter me, truly, but Capri and I are more like siblings than lovers. Trust me. We'd kill each other if we were mates."

It was not that he had eyes for Terich's companion, although none would deny she was an attractive wolf and it was not that he didn't have eyes for her, either. He was a curious creature, and his mind could not help but wonder if the two were any more than platonic in their relationship. It mattered for the pack, and himself too, if they aspired to have pups some day.

Terich confirmed however that there was nothing more between them than friendship, joking that their deaths would be imminent if they were. Taggarik reciprocated the chuckle heartily. "That's how it starts sometimes," he teased, returning the silver male's earlier shoulder-nudge with one of his own.

Several paces later, as the black wolf's nose skimmed the snow, he paused abruptly to practically bury his face into the white fluff, snuffling and snorting as he breathed deep of the scents there. His tail waved behind him, and when he lifted his head, he bore a comical mask of snow. "You ever catch a mouse before?" he asked with a playful grin. They had just walked on to a fresh trail hidden beneath the powder.

Terich didn't know how to react to Taggarik's assumption that he and Capri were lovers. They had encountered it before, of course, but there was something soft and quiet in his alpha's voice that made Terich pause. Could that ever happen? Of course Terich's father, Shiloh, would have liked to see his son married to the beauty of Argent Creek, but Terich was uncertain. How would that even work? They already knew everything about each other, of course; that part would be easy. She was intelligent, beautiful, and strong. What else could a wolf ask for in a mate?

Instead of verbalizing any of this, Terich-mir simply shook his head as they walked, pondering Taggarik's unspoken suggestion. When he asked if Terich had ever caught a mouse before, Terich was glad for the distraction, and paused in his movement to ponder it. "Perhaps when I was small, but not recently." The smile that split his maw was gentle as his head canted to the side. "Seems like it wouldn't be easy."

The black wolf did not spend much time pursuing mice; he was naturally in tune with the concept of calories out and calories in, and as a lone wolf, he could not afford to spend his energy on such little gains. In a pack, large game was on the menu, and if not, then hares. In short, mice were entertainment, though in desperate times he would not overlook them.

For those who were adept at catching rodents beneath the snow, like the fox, the task was reasonable. For him, and probably most wolves, it was considerably improbable. Taggarik chuckled. "They're tricky," he agreed. "I do it for sport more than anything," he shared as he took a few more paces, his nose barely grazing the top of the snow as he attempted to pinpoint the direction the mouse's trail went. His ears swivelled, hoping to catch the faint sound of tiny nails scrabbling, but he heard nothing. Perhaps the mouse knew he was there and was holding tight.

He hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think this one's far..." he trailed off, in a way asking his companion if he was up for a game of cat wolf and mouse.

Terich-mir followed his king as he explained about mouse hunting. It seemed tedious and would yield little results, but as Taggarik explained that it was mostly for sport, Terich could see the appeal. It could especially be useful in teaching youngsters how to track scents through obstacles like snow and ice. His nose dipped to the snow in Tagg's wake, sifting through his overpowering scent to find the mouse beneath. Ah, there it was. Terich followed his dark alpha on the hunt, stepping lightly in the larger's wolves pawprints, as his nose followed Taggarik's and the mouse's trail.

"I'll follow," he said in reply, nodding slightly to indicate that Taggarik should find the mouse and Terich would follow. Perhaps there would be more than one to pounce on.

His pace was slow and deliberate. Each paw was lifted carefully and gently sunk into the snow as he put it back down. His nose drifted across the top of the snow, his ears swivelling more frequently than normal. Finding a mouse was as much about hearing them scrabbling in their snow tunnels as finding their scent, perhaps even more so. Terich followed behind.

The pair did not travel far when the black wolf stopped, one forepaw was curled in the air and his focus was trained on one spot. Scritch, scritch, scritch. He could hear the mouse as it shuffled under the snow. His tail was still like the rest of him; he was a statue except for the pivoting of his ears as he tried to pinpoint exactly where the rodent once.

Once he thought he knew, he struck, slamming both paws down hard as he pounced. The mouse shot out from the side of one paw, he was off his mark by a half-inch and only had the mouse pinned by its hindquarters. Not enough. He made a snap at it but the mouse evaded his teeth, taking to the top of the snow as it made a mad dash for more cover.

Perhaps Terich could make a catch.

When Taggarik paused, Terich did too. Their bodies were poised above the snow, still as the mountain they called home, while they waited for some sign of their quarry. Terich's blue gaze traveled from his alpha to the snow around him, and his ears swiveled forward as the scritch-scritch-scritching of the mouse reached his ears. All was stillness for a brief moment before Taggarik reared back and pounced on the mouse with both front paws. But he was off by a fraction, and the creature shot out from beneath his paws and skittered toward nearby cover.

With a laugh, Terich scrabbled to follow the mouse, his nimble feet quick and elegant on the snow. Wolf chased mouse, the latter of which was faster and more nimble than the former. Terich cursed his luck as the mouse slid beneath the bush just as he pounced, sliding along the ground and getting a bushful of snowy branch up his nose. With a cough, he stepped back and shook his head, a smile on his face. Looking toward Taggarik, Terich shrugged his shoulders and let his tongue hang out in a pant. "Lost him! They're quick little bastards, aren't they?"

He reacted too, his body coiling to throw him into another pounce at the mouse, but he restrained himself as his gray companion made an attempt to catch it. In a flurry of snow, Terich pursued the creature, and Taggarik was rigid with anticipation as he watched. But it was not meant to be, the rodent got the best of them both, disappearing beneath a bush and leaving Terich with nothing more than a snout-full of bough and snow.

Taggarik laughed heartily. "Yeah, they sure are." He shook his head. He supposed nature had to give the little animals something. "Come on then, let's see if we can rustle up something more substantial, like a bunny." He grinned, and motioned for his companion to follow as he headed onward.

Terich laughed while he shook out the remainder of the snow from his coat and followed Taggarik toward a more promising meal. With each day he enjoyed these hills and ridges more, though he still didn't go further than the hollows and hills. Taggarik was proving to be a capable leader as he drew more and more wolves to his side. Soon enough they would be calling to the heavens to secure their place among these lands, but for now they would enjoy a swift hunt and a quick meal together as friends.