Wolf RPG

Becoming part of something larger than himself did little to quell Farstep's wanderlust. While he now had a place to return to so long as he upheld the laws of the wild and laws of the pack, he would never be a homebody. He'd left his birth pack for the wonder of the world and that was hardly going to change now. He would simply wander the lands nearer to Taggarik's claim, ensuring that he returned at least every few days to refresh his own scent within the territory so they wouldn't turn teeth upon him for abandonment.

Today he scouted along the ridge and went even further to the northeast. The relatively gentle slope of Taggarik's ridge soon became steep and it was taxing on his legs to hoist himself upward. He was no more than an eighth of the way up the mountain when he had to pause, panting, to let his burning legs rest. Now that he was here, several hundred feet higher than the tallest point of Taggarik's ridge, he could see the valley below in all its splendor. He admired the view momentarily, then canted his head to gaze up the mountain.

There was surely something at the top, but above it all hung ominous, dark clouds. It wasn't summer and the clapping storms of warm months weren't common in the snow in his experience, but the way the sky roiled up higher reminded him of the storms. The hair on his back prickled with the memory of metal on the air and blinding lights, and he immediately thought better of going any higher. On this shelf of rock would he remain until he'd caught his breath, and then his exploration would take him elsewhere, away from the danger.

Things were progressing well for the young dragon, that much she was certain of. Though acquiring the word of near strangers that they would follow under her leadership was more difficult than she'd expected it to be, she felt herself to be doing well enough. As far as she was concerned, it matter not how long it took, anyways, just as long as the quest she'd set herself out upon met completion. Perhaps things would have gone smoother thus far had she possessed a definite place of settlement to pass along to those she'd hoped to recruit, but each territory she'd entered in the past proved to be unfit. Not in the sense that they could not support life, but solely because she could not make a connection to the land. It felt foreign under her paws, unlike any home should feel. She knew her heart longed for the mountains, but the precise location had remained unknown to her for a long while.

After having returned to the plateau in order to check upon @Leo, she'd led the boy up the mountain and left him at the place she may someday learn to be called The Wall. During her previous visit there, she'd stumbled upon a clearing where she'd met a kind female, and was confident it would serve as a pleasant resting point for her younger companion. Once he'd been settled in for the day, she'd given her farewells with the promise of a timely return, then set out once more to scout the areas ahead of them. Every now and again she'd be struck by a gust of wind, it's force and temperature seemingly worsened by the heights of the mountains. In spite of that, she was not turned away, but rather made more determined to settle herself down atop the peaks. To survive such ordeals would show strength, something she knew would be necessary if she wished to properly protect her future land.

Often, the Draconid was forced to stop and rest, the constant changes of the inclines putting a great deal of strain on her slender body. At one point or another, she wondered if Leo would be able to make it when she went back to collect him, but ultimately decided that worrying was an awful way to spend her time. He was a strong hatchling, after all, nothing would prevent him from traveling along beside her when the time came to relocate once more. Besides, breaks would be a constant thing, just as they were for her currently as she hiked up through the rocky terrain. She'd quickly become somewhat of an expert at traveling along ridges, picking up on little tricks that assisted in her maintaining the balance required to keep her from falling to her death. Eventually, the ground evened slightly, before throwing another steep ridge at her. No matter, she continued along it, pushing herself to continue until the top was reached. However, the crest was not yet meant to be seen by her silvery eyes, for another wolf stood in her path. A male, going by his scent, and a loner, too. Though, there was something different about his fragrance, for the scents of several others clung to him as well. Perhaps he was not as alone as Asterr had initially believed. Either way, she still gave a soft chuff in greeting, her posture remaining regal yet neutral, showing she posed no threat to his safety. "Are you in search of a place to settle, too, perhaps?"

From that height, Farstep could see a large portion of the mountain range. Some peaks to the east reached even higher than this one, their rocky tops completely shrouded in the clouds above, whilst others to the west and south were squatter. The ridge was perhaps the shortest of all, but it was broad. He could see the silver veins of rivers and the pools where they collected from here, shiny against the matter backdrop of the snow. He could see the form of a wolf travelling along the ridge's top, dark of hair, probably Taggarik. Further down he could see the trees stretching out until they spilled out into the valley below.

His admiration of the view and the advantage of sight were cut off when his eyes fell upon another wolf, this one much, much closer to him. She rose from the bottom toward the top as well, but from another direction. Not a ridge wolf; he'd never seen her before and as she drew nearer, realized her scent was foreign, too. Had he not grown up in a world where wolves acted naturally above all else, he might have taken offense to her nearness to the ridge, but as she was not approaching the borders and was showing no signs of contesting them, he was at ease. He would never react in the manner of an overly possessive individual when it came to a pack's borders. He'd non-verbally scolded Dash for such behaviour. It wouldn't do to turn around and display the same behaviour himself.

Like all spoken words, Asterr's question went right over his head, sounding to his ear like a gruff acknowledging bark. His tail swayed gently around his ankles, though he stood squarely on the shelf of rock. Amiable, but rigid enough that she would know he would stand his ground as needed. His ears lay to the sides and his mouth opened in an easy pant, suggesting he was non-threatening unless threatened himself. This was how he observed her, waiting for her to speak with her body so he might understand her intentions.

To expect words was common, for it was the way things often worked. Individuals spoke to one another in order to leave no room for false claims based on physical presentation alone, as well as carry on with one another. She knew there existed those who were mute, whether they'd been born with an inability to speak or simply chose not to at one point or another, but even if they did not speak they could understand the common tongue. It was possible for them to take the words in and respond with their body alone just as the male had done, but something seemed different. As she observed him, the girl could not help but wonder if he'd understood at all. Having quickly come to the conclusion that words would be useless, she chose to abandon speaking all together.

It seemed almost uncivilized to converse with nothing more than the language of the body, and she could not deny that she was unfamiliar with doing so. Her tail remained pointed towards the ground, swaying gently as she kept her eyes upon the other. Asterr's posture stayed neutral, albeit leaning a bit more to the friendly side, lacking the intention to upset the other. Even so, she lowered her head in no way, the act of submitting to the seemingly older wolf viewed as unnecessary in her mind. They lingered on unclaimed land, and were simply strangers in passing. She, too, would stand her ground if the situation called for such actions to be taken. As long as the encounter remained amicable, however, she possessed no logical reason for lashing out. Still, she was somewhat wary of the male, if only because she could not speak to him as originally intended. No matter, she would make due, for determination kept her from departing the silent scene.

With slowed movements, she took a single step in Farstep's direction, pointing her muzzle in the direction of the space behind him. She was interested in the peak, however many clouds may gather over it, and curious of his potential plans in relation to it.

 

Saghani herself loomed bit higher than either wolf, having taken an alternate course up. She recognized the same clouds as Farstep and watched them with mute intrigue. It seemed more than she behaved as the Rorschach blot on the snow-laden lands; the clouds did not seem shapeless from here, but the figures they cut were indistinguishable to the unimaginative (in all things creative) woman. 

They rolled above in a familiar upset. Saghani knew of thunderstorms and knew they could occur at such altitudes, but the clouds seemed heavier. At length one burst; from it came hail that would soon be overhead. 

Saghani was getting to know these lands for herself. Having just feasted recently, her drive to find a good pack to fall into came... Or else, a pack for her to create if nothing sufficed. The she-wolf turned to descend. From here she could see rather than smell the wolves interacting.

She avoided them as best she could, and her interest was threadbare at best. Her ears perked as yellow eyes drew over them, lingering intently upon the male and pausing here, sniffing in a cursory manner at the air. Her gaze then fell to the other like herself in color and her ears alertly perked. 

Moments later, she began to trot off. If it were simply one wolf, she might have approached; two were a dangerous game to the driven loner.

He couldn't read much into others' overarching intentions. Their body language was like a book with which he was intimately familiar, a book whose spine had long since deteriorated from use, whose pages were littered with inky fingerprints and whose cover was faded and worn. It was the manual by which he lived and breathed. It was his sole form of communication, but it had its limitations. Farstep could only tell what a wolf wanted in the moment. Their intents were only laid before him in brief intervals. He could tell that Asterr had no intention of harming him right now, but he couldn't tell what she was doing here, why she remained in his presence, or what he could possibly offer her by remaining himself.

The spoken word was most certainly more convenient, but one thing the body could not do was lie. A wolf who was hard-wired for dominance could not submit to one he believed to be less respectful and less significant than himself, minus the aid of a pack in determining the hierarchy between them, without it being an obnoxious form of submission. The true belief that he is greater would always shine through to one on the receiving end of such obnoxious submission. In that manner, the body could not lie. Farstep could not tell lies and neither could he receive them.

So there were no lies between him and Asterr, but their conversation occurred in second-long blips rather than sweeping sentences and eloquence. He followed her gaze over his shoulder to the peak, and a second glance at the clouds above only made his hackles prickle visibly. His tail faltered its relaxed waving as the tension of the broiling storm gripped him momentarily. His jaws parted to release his tongue and a bated breath, suggesting that it was fear that kept him from going higher. His curiosity was outweighed by it. Braver wolves might attempt the peak, but Farstep would never go beyond this point.

Speaking of braver wolves, as he swung his head back around to Asterr, he caught sight of a dark form heading down the mountain, presumably spooked by the storm as well, and felt a stronger pull to put more distance between the raging sky and himself. For the moment, he remained rooted and peered curiously at Asterr, but knew he would soon head for safer ground below, following in Saghani's footsteps.

The neighboring land beside theirs was dismal at best – the storm clouds that rolled overhead seemed ever present, and as her easy lope took her further from the beauty of the Ridge, she found herself more willing to turn back. But the temptation only lasted until she caught scent of the pack’s Gamma, and the silver-tipped she-wolf felt a flurry of anxiety that he might be out here when the storm above broke open.
 
Her lope was casual, but her pace quickened, and soon, her gaze fell upon Farstep. He was not alone, and as she closed the distance between herself and the other two, Capri’s shoulder would graze amicably against the tawny wolf, her form lifting only slightly to remind him of her standing.
 Another dark wolf slunk away higher up upon the slopes, and the Ridge regal determined her unimportant in the matter -- but the other wolf held potential, and despite her reservations at their female population growing and potentially losing her own standing, the balance between gender population needed to be improved.

Within her life there was little to fear, if anything at all. She'd been brought up to never fear that which she did not know or understand, for presumptions had a way of looping back and biting one in the butt. Even things she did understand, things she knew were there to be feared, did not fill her veins with ice. It was only due to the manner in which she'd been raised that she was unfazed by the gloomy clouds massing within the sky. She was interested in them, as well as by the thought of learning what it was like higher up. More dangerous, she knew, but possibly more exciting, too. She was rather disappointed by the male's display, learning he would not trek any further than the point at which they stood. It would have been nice to have another set of eyes examine the peaks, even if they belonged to a total stranger, but it became apparent that she would have to wait to share the sight.

Asterr felt a pull in her chest, urging her to go past the tawny wolf and make more progress along the ridges, but she refrained from doing so. For the time being, she contained herself, though her gaze continued to drift off in the direction of the gathering clouds. It was clear she wished to explore, but her lack of movement would, perhaps, inspire confusion as to why she remained in place. Somehow, she'd missed catching a glimpse of Saghani, however her ears had cupped forward at the sound of retreating steps. She'd recognized her only as another who held no desire to travel to higher grounds, thereby categorizing the idea of communicating with the mystery being as off-putting. While the other obsidian woman had managed to carry on without so much as a glance from the dragon, Capriccio's appearance was unable to be ignored. The way she'd touched her shoulder to the male informed Asterr that they were familiar with one another, which led to a question forming in her mind—was the female a mute as well? Having no desire to test whether or not her words would be understood, she acknowledged the masked woman with nothing more than a nod of her head.

His gaze reached over Asterr's shoulder to the retreating wolf once more, who was now nearly at the valley proper, and with that, he decided he'd had enough of the mountain. It was inhospitable and promised injury if he went any higher than this. There was a perfectly lush ridge waiting for him to return to it; though he was curious what lay beyond, the wanderer in him was quashed by his desire for self-preservation.

He turned a half-step only to encounter Capriccio, who brushed against him familiarly. His head ducked and his ears went back as he nipped fondly at a passing shoulder. He stood like that with her for a moment, parallel but facing the opposite way, before making the decision to take his leave of the place. He could no sooner invite Asterr to come along and join the ridge pack than he could ask her name. Capriccio seemed to understand the wolves in this region and their interest in vocalizing with their mouths rather than their bodies, so it was most prudent that he leave any such task to her. Besides, being the Alpha female of the pack, perhaps it was her intent to draw in others, or perhaps she was content to be largely uncontested in her role.

He retreated several steps down the mountain, pausing only to see if Capriccio would follow or would remain with the lone wolf above.

The tawny Gamma greeted her warmly, and her own tail swept through the air to show her approval. But he was not long to stay in her new company, and the wolf began making his way back to the ridge, clearly done with the situation that had been before him.
 
Intrigued by his disinterest in the dark woman before them, Capri watched him leave for only a moment before her wolfish brows quirked, and she shifted her icy eyes to study the woman before her. "Hello," she offered, her stance remaining neutral, as they remained upon unclaimed lands. "I'm Capri," she offered quietly, wondering if she should be following at her Gamma's heels.

The silent fellow had not remained long after the arrival of who was presumed to be his companion. Her gaze had trailed after his retreating form briefly, before all attention was returned to the newest of arrivals. It came as a pleasant shock when the woman spoke, thereby giving the yearling something more to look forward to. To speak with one's body had some positive points, of course, but she would always favour verbal conversations. The entirety of her birthplace had, to a certain extent, revolved around the art of the spoken language, so it'd been quite odd for her to use nothing more than her body.

"I am pleased to meet you, Capri," she voiced, bowing her head in greeting. "My name is Asterr Draconid." Never could she go without giving her family name with her given, for she held a great respect for her family. It was a way of paying homage to them, as silly as it might seem to some. "I had been uncertain of whether you, too, were a mute." The words were given as an explanation for why she'd not introduced herself right away, not wishing to come off as impolite in any way. "Has he never once spoken?" she questioned, voice soft to signify that she lacked the intention to cause offense.

Asterr Draconid. It sounded quite exotic, though the Ridge wolf did not question its meaning. Such conversations usually lead to how her family insisted on naming their children after forms of music and notes – something she was almost certain she would not do to her own children, should she ever bear any.
 
“No,” she responded, her gaze trailing to the direction Farstep had drifted. “But he is the most loyal pack member we have,” she mused quietly, giving her slender muzzle a shake before her gaze drifted back to the swarthy female. There was a moment of pause from the regal – the debate as to whether she should invite yet one more female competitor in to their ranks. Asterr seemed young as well – but all of these yearlings would also age rather quickly.. and be in a certain prime.
 
“Are you just passing through?” Hesitant, still, to relay an invitation just yet, she directed the conversation to gauge more insight upon the stranger.

It was a wonder how the male fared within a pack—actually, she found herself more interested in the pack itself, curious of how it worked. The system that it functioned under had to be different from that of her birth place, that of what she wished to establish for herself, in order for a creature of his standings to dwell within it. The topic of the other's silence was not spoken of any further, being dropped with a gentle nod of her head. How ever their establishment maintained itself, or what type of wolves resided within it, was none of her concern. She held no desire in joining that which had already settled, leaving the pursuit of information on it quite meaningless.

There then came Asterr's turn to answer a question, though her response was not shared immediately. The details concerning her being there were things she was uncertain of sharing the entirety of. "Yes," she'd eventually offered, but corrected herself directly after. "But also no." Would it be wise to share her plans with the woman? She'd shared as much with the leader of Silvertip, the girl recalled, and there was no reason not to offer the same courtesy to Capri. "I have been scouting the lands, searching for a place to settle with my companions." She did not specify the number of members within her small band, uncertain of what could be shared with the woman. If the pack she'd mentioned briefly was nearby, then the yearling wished not to enlighten them as to who all would be trailing past their claim. Their reactions could not be predicted and, because of that, she would not permit them the time to prepare.

So the girl was seeking to create something of her own – a twinge of jealousy coursed through Capri’s heart for only a moment, and then subsided. She had almost set out to do just that herself.. but something about Taggarik held her where she was.. at least for now. He was handsome, caring.. so what was it that held her from seeking his company more?
 
The answer was only a slap to the face – her own insecurities held her back, and such was not leadership material.
 
Drifting away from her own internal annoyances, her the woman offered a gentle nod. “I see,” she spoke, a small smile flitting across her muzzle, if only briefly. “Our pack is just a hop and a skip from here – so perhaps your scouting should take you a little further,” she suggested, not aiming to insult but to inform. It would do no pack good to be practically on top of one another.
 
“But the mountains go on for quite a stretch – I’m sure your search will find you something.”

Insight was given, the knowledge of a pack nearby. The words were duly noted, but she knew not yet whether she could truly take them to heart. To settle so near to another had never been her plans, but if the place called to her in a manner that none other could, she would not deny herself a place atop it. As of yet, she'd not been given any reason to remain on the gloomy ridges, but she'd also not yet explored the majority of it. Only after then could she decide if it was worth the proximity or not. Still, she nodded her head, showing she'd at least remember the woman's words. "Perhaps it may," she offered, momentarily ignoring the uncertainty of her mind.

"I am certain I will come across a place that interests me," the yearling decided. "I should be returning to my journey now. I have others depending on me, as I am sure you may relate to." She did not wish to cut the interaction so short, but she had others in need of her. The female had spoken of a pack, thereby placing her within it—a pack Asterr did not yet need to learn any information of. She remained in place to see if the woman had anything she'd like to say before they parted ways. If nothing of great significance was voiced, the dragon would give her farewells and then carry on further up the mountain.

Capri regarded the girl, and held no reason to believe she took her words as anything else – though if the ebony female did determine to stake claim on this rather dismal part of the mountain, the silver-tipped female knew Porcupine Ridge would become involved – they could not have such close neighbors that threatened the nearby prey. It was not sustainable.
 
“Take care,” was all she offered in turn, her own slender form swinging to the direction of home, her paws quickening their pace as she made to catch up to Farstep. She held no reason to believe she would even see the girl again – but later it would become quite evident that the dark she-wolf had gone very much against Capri’s casual warning – and the Roux-Abrhen would not stand for it.