Wolf RPG

The female canine made her away along the rugged terrain of Phoenix Maplewood border. Her silvery fur came to use with blending in with the rocks dotting the landscape. Her blue eyes raked across the land inside the pack's territory. She knew she was near Phoenix Maplewood territorry, and that posed a threat for her safety, but hell: she'd die out here anyway, so she might as well give it a try.

She reached the a large rock on the outskirts of the boarder, similar to the one inside Maplewood's land; just not spit in half; and looked around, peering into the distance for any sign of the pack's wolves. Her head swung back around to to Boulder lying in front of her, deciding it would give her a better view from the top. She backed up a bit and darted forward, leaping into the air, paws launching on the boulder's hard, ruff surface. Claws scraped the rock as she scrambled for footing in the steep edges. With a screech of annoyance,  she slid back to the ground, paw pads stinging from the friction. She tried again and succeeded, regaining her balance and looking around the much better view.

A quick plume of steamy breath burst forth from Reek's nostrils, obscuring his face in a fleeting cloud as he snorted with displeasure. Winter was now in full effect, the Maplewood was swept with a layer of snow and the temperature had taken a freezing plunge. The cold affected his joints in a way he hadn't noticed in years past. Movement was labored and painful; he felt the scraping of bone on bone and it taxed him in ways he had previously thought impossible.  

He didn't want to be here— not walking the border of this snowy hellscape in a painful lockstep. Reek wanted to be back where it was warm and dry; to be back in his den along side his healing mate. The feeling of her body heat against his side as she pressed against him taunted him like a ghost in his mind. He missed her embrace, the closeness they shared. Oh, how he wanted to let himself intertwine with her again like they used to when their love was new, to sleep the day away together without a care. Of course, he knew he could return to the den and have all of this... but there was still a pack to run, and border patrol was still high on the list on important duties.  

The cold affected his senses as well as his movements. His sense of smell was greatly dulled, but even still, he caught the faint scent of a stranger near the northern border. He trudged his way through the snow and toward the smell's source. Upon passing the tree-line Reek was met with a wolf scrambling to reach the top of a boulder.  It was peculiar sight and Reek looked on with a hint of confusion. "Like the view?" he asked, hoping to grab the stranger's attention.

Laika's head snapped around, the voice of the other wolf echoing in her audits. The pricked forward, head tilted ever so slightly. 

"Yes, actually," she barked, straightening her frame and making eye contact with the male.

She bunched her muscles, preparing to jump back into the snow. She leaped into the air, the frozen air nipping at her eyes and clawing at her nose. Landing with a soft flutter of snow, she turned back the the black wolf, blue eyes curious. Her breathe jumped from her nose, billowing in the air for just a moment before disappearing. Laika looked healthy, but she was a little underweight, and her silver fur was scraggly. A singly ears flicked to the side.

"Are you a Phoenix Maplewood leader?" She ventured, guessing he was of authority from the way her carried himself.

Another puff of frozen breathe escaped her muzzle as she shifted her weight. Her paws were beginning to ache from the cold white blanket that covered the landscape. She hated standing still in the snow.

Eye contact. Her initial pleasantries flew out the window and Reek's hackles bristled almost immediately at the stranger's social paux-pas. Teeth barred, he snarled as nastily as he could at the precariously perched stranger; such a challenge to his dominance would not be tolerated on his borders. There was a time when Reek would have let the little things, such as this, go without issue.  A minor mistake in body language wasn't the end all be all, but Reek had hardened following Ukko's outburst. There was no longer any room for weakness. The warmth inside he tried to foster had been snuffed out with the coming cold, leaving a numb husk of a man behind.  

Reek's eyes followed the stranger as she leapt down from the boulder. His rigid stance did not falter.

"I am," he spat, voice like acid.  "So, eyes down kiddo."  If she averted her gaze, Reek conceded to give her one more chance before calling the pack to chase her from the borders.  "What do you want?"

Head lowered in a respectful dip of her head.

"My apologies, I have been without a pack for so long, I forget what's respectful and what's not. But of course, that is no excuse." She barked, her eyes focusing on on a stick piercing through the snow just left of his paw.  
[size=medium]She listened to his question, pondering it carefully. Honestly, she did not know where to start! Her pack was full, and even though she was one of the daughters of prized wolves, she was not a favourite and was cast out at a very young age. She slowly taught herself to hunt, and fight, though with that came many challenges and struggles to survive. However. She came up with her own hunting tactics and battle moves, and that aided her greatly with unexpected prey or wolves. Most pack wolves learned the same battles moves from their mentors, so their common enemies will [/size]often know what to expect. After a brief moment, she decided what to say.

"I was wondering if your pack needs and extra set of paws." She hid most of her past, not one to be open with others. "I am skilled in battle and hunting." 

She kept her blue eyes trained on the stick, determined not to let another challenging body movement slip. Truthfully, she was ashamed by her mistake.

Her gaze was quickly broken and apologies were uttered, but even still, Reek did not let his body loosen.  No slack was given in his tight posture.  He wanted to appear imposing and powerful; he wanted to make an impression early on that he was not to be trifled with. Obviously, he had failed in doing so when accepting Ukko. The same mistake would not be made again.  

The number of wolves showing up on the border had been increasing at an exponential rate as of late, each seeking asylum from the harsh winter. Each was another mouth to feed, and Reek had no problem turning a prospective joiner away if they had nothing to offer in return. Phoenix Maplewood was not in the business of divvying out handouts, and Reek was no charitable man except to those who had already established themselves in his pack— his family. This kindness did not extend to those who made their home beyond his borders.

Initially, he planned to turn this prospect away before she rattled off a short list of two necessary skills. His ears perked especially when her heard she was a hunter. With the lead gamekeeper out of commission, the pack's hunts had been an absolute mess. Some new blood and an extra body would prove effective, especially if she had the skill to back it up.

The corners of his mouth twisted into a grin and he looked upon the stranger inquisitively. "Show me," he said. "Lead me on a hunt." If she could prove herself here, she would have a sure home among his family.

Laika nodded, tail tip twitching in hope. She raised her nose to the air, scenting the incoming breeze tentatively. The faint smell of a lonely doe rummaging through the snow made its way to her nostrils and her ears pricked. 

"Doe. Down here."  She informed the Alpha, trotting down the hill, still in a respectful stance. 

She dropped low, sensing the unexpecting deer close. Tentative blue eyes gazed around the unfamiliar territory, hoping that soon she would know it like the back of her paw. She was on a roll, stalking ever so closely to the deer. Now, if she focused closely through the thick foliage and young growth, she was able to make out the brown legs.  She waited for the Alpha to be at her side before thinking out her plan. 

"Can you herd the deer towards that small dip over there?" She asked tentatively, pointing with her tail to where the ground dipped just a bit, and a short, rocky outcropping stood at its base. She hoped he wouldn't anger from her asking him to do a task, knowing he was the Alpha, and he was the one to give orders. "I will be waiting at the top for the deer to flee there."

To Reek's surprise, she picked up a scent almost immediately. The cold affected his senses, dulling them until he was practically nose blind.  It seemed the wintery weather had no such effect on the stranger thankfully. Reek followed close down the snowy embankment, and low and behold— her nose didn't lie. Just barely in eyeshot, a doe of moderate size rummaged through the snow to get to the dry, dead grass underneath, completely unaware of the presence of two hungry wolves.

Taking refuge behind the frozen brush, Reek listened to the strangers plan and found it strategically sound. Typically, he was always the one to flush the prey out of hiding, while delegating the killing blows to other, more skilled hunters. If the stranger had the skill to back her self up, the execution would be textbook.

He nodded toward the stranger instead of speaking because he worried of spooking the prey, but he wanted her to know... her plan had the green light. Taking a wide arc, just out of eyeshot, Reek set himself up on the other side of the deer to hopefully spook it in Liaka's direction. His muscles coiled with anticipation, and as soon as he mentally prepared himself, he took off toward the deer in a sprint.

The fear in her eyes was evident as she tore her head from the ground, allowing her gaze to fall upon a predator in pursuit. For a moment, the deer clumsily wobbled with surprise, but was soon in a full on sprint right where Laika wanted her.

Laika had made a large half circle around the deer, making sure she was completely out of eyesight and earshot. Thankfully, the slight breeze had stilled, leaving the forest eerily quiet - but also helping with not carrying her scent. She slunk up the hill until she was conveniently hidden between two bramble bushes. The bushes aided in consealing her silver coat, and giving a quick route to attack the deer. 

She was high above as the she-wolf watched the stranger alpha herd the deer to the right spot. She had to hurry, however, for once the deer knew it was cornered, it would definitely bolt in such ever direction it could. The deer flew into the trap and Laika leapt from her ledge. She sailed a good three feet on her way down, but her smaller, lithe frame helped her land gracefully upon the deer's back with just a small slip of her front paw. She regained her balance quickly as the deer let out a terrified cry. The she-wolf dug her claws into the doe's flesh and delivered the fatal bite to its neck, keeping her jaws locked around the struggling creature until she felt and heard the satisfying thumb of the lifelessness carcass hit the ground.

Reek ran as fast as he could in pursuit of the doe, carefully guiding it's course to the exact spot that the stranger had pointed out.  In the fray, he had lost track of Laika's position and hoped that she was waiting in the wings to bring the doe down. It would be a difficult feat to bring down a doe with just two hunters... Reek knew the odds were not in their favor, but he did his best to hold up his end of the bargain.  As soon as the doe passed the threshold, Reek stopped a good distance away and waited.

What he saw was either a stroke of luck or a stroke of genius.  Perhaps a bit of both.  Practically falling from the sky, Laika brought the doe down with a fatal blow to the neck.  Needless to say, Reek was absolutely flabbergasted by her unorthodox methods... more-so, that they actually worked.  

Excited to have something to stock the caches with, Reek ran to the new prospects side and muttered, "Holy shit," between heavy, panting breaths. "Did you just? —From the fucking sky... What?!" Gesticulating wildly with his head, Reek could hardly contain his surprise. "Welcome home kid... you got a name?"

Laika looked up at the male, a slight smirk upon her lips at how surprised he seemed to be. 

"I thought myself that move when I spent a couple month in the mountains. It came in handy." She explained. Upon hearing she was excepted, her orbs lit up. "I promise I will do everything I can to prove my loyalty to Phoenix Maplewood."

Tail wagged happily as she was praised by her new Alpha, tongue lolling just a bit. She glanced at the carcass, her mouth watering at the thought of eating it, but she knew the rules of packs - at least her old pack. Alphas were to eat their share first, then it would go by highest rank to lowest. 

"I'm Laika," she replied, blue eyes dancing. "What should I call you?" 

She glanced at the carcass once more, deciding a strategy to get it back to camp with just two wolves, then turned back to the stranger, still, not making eye contact.

The surprise of the kill was still obviously wrought across Reek's face. His mouth hung agape... his stare was nearly vacant.  He tried to make sounds, but all that came out was a weird babbling noise once his words had tapered off.  The whole thing had been absolutely surreal. Despite his original misgivings about Laika, he now knew she would make a wonderful addition to the pack.

"I'm, uh— I'm Reek," he stumbled, trying to introduce himself without stuttering, but he failed miserably. All eloquence had fallen to the wayside when he witnessed her little flying maneuver.  "Uh,  you... I, uh... Help me drag this into the territory.  My mate and co-alpha, she's currently healing from a broken rib... it'll be nice to finally feed her right."

He smiled. A rarity nowadays, but the thought brought him comfort.  He reached down and sank his teeth into the neck of the doe with intent to drag it along.  "Come on," he mumbled, mouth full of flesh and sinew.  With their effort combined, dragging the deer to Reek's den for @Saena would be short work.

Laika nodded, swooping in the sink her teeth into the haunch, picking it up and helping Reek drag it back to camp. The weight weighed down on her neck, but if was good exercise. 

She noted every nook and cranny there was to so on the path to the camp, hoping she could memorize at least some of the territory by nightfall. Her experience with many foreign landscapes helped give her a keen eyes for the tiniest things. Once she had the territory mapped out, she would be able to notice the tiniest things out of place.

Tail tip twitched in excitement in nerves as she mentally prepared herself to meet her new pack, at the same time as trying to avoid to slobber all over the deer in famish. Truth be told, she hadn't eaten in three days.