she had been here only a very short time, but already vuk had, with the keen awareness of what it took to survive, ferreted out a small den toward the middle of the territory. however, she lived aside from the others, much too shy to interact with her packmates as of yet. but vuk knew she must, for communication and the hierarchy were tantamount among her kind.
today she walked through the snow with a small fieldmouse clutched in her jaws. by any standard, it was a poor, tiny kill, but vuk was desperate to prove herself, and deposited the pathetic body into a cache. straightening, she searched about herself for the sight of another, steeling her nerves for the meeting.
While Porcupine Ridge had predominantly been established with a male hierarchy – it would seem Taggarik had managed to balance the genders quite efficiently. Of course, she could muse upon the convenience it offered him to have more females within their ranks – but despite her insecurities, she trusted the ebony wolf to accept only wolves that would benefit the pack.
And so, when she came across yet another new female scent, the silver-tipped lady withheld a snort, and determined to meet her potential usurper.
She found her quicker than expected, and upon first inspection, the girl was lovely in a traditional sense. Pale white cloaked a shorter form – and unique with sterling silver markings. The girl reminded her of her sister, Siren.
It was the delicate nature of the girl as she plopped a mouse down to the cache that soothed Capri’s worry – even more so than the girl’s youthful age. Lifting herself only to reveal her rank rather than strut, the silver-tipped wolf padded forward, her frosted eyes still studying the girl. “Hello,” she beckoned outward, her own tone soft as she attempted to gain her newest pack mates attention.
she was sky and silver, argent and blue, but moreso than her great beauty was the stance of the ridge upon her, the way that the other wolfess carried herself. this was the alpha female, presumably the mate of the dark man who had accepted her. the primal core engaged; vuk lowered herself in the snow at the sound of her leader's voice, reaching to lap briefly at the slender chin. her whine was answer enough -- the alphess would learn soon that vuk was not a creature of many words.
lifting her eyes only as far as the other's cheekbones, the theta thumped her tail upon the snow, signaling her affability and willingness to converse as much as she was able.
The female lowered herself upon noticing Capri’s presence, and the dark she-wolf allowed her stance to relax. Her form strode carefully toward the girl, noting her shyness – already finding it endearing. Her own tail swung amicably through the air, and gaining closer, she tilted her muzzle downward, her nose quivering as she took in the scent of their newest member.
Appeased that the girl remained healthy, and faintly scented of Taggarik, Capri pulled back, allowing the girl space. “Welcome to Porcupine Ridge,” she offered, her tone warm as she studied her newest companion.
the woman had softened toward her; this vuk appreciated, for she had feared an insensitive ruler, though taggarik did not seem to be this. "tha .... thank y-you," she managed gratefully, glancing up very momentarily to file away the colour of capriccio's eyes. she sensed she was being scrutinized, and straightened somewhat under the look of her alpha female. not being a creature of words, vuk found herself at a loss for what to do next -- she was not a playful sort, nor did she want to display her poor attempts at hunting. and so she decided to let capriccio direct their banter, giving the woman a small smile.
The girl was quiet – her words did not seem to come easily, and Capri was uncertain if this only stemmed from her being nervous. Determining to ignore it for now, the girl seemed to straighten, relaxing in the Alpha’s company, and amicably, she gave a gentle nudge to her newfound companion’s cheek before pulling away, her pace slow as she indicated she would like the pale girl to follow.
Her nose quivered as she attempted to track down something that could hunt – big or small, if the girl was filling the caches, Capri would be eager to aide her. “I’m Capri,” she offered then, her gaze drifted back to the she-wolf, though she did not slow her pace. “What’s your name?”
capriccio soothed her subordinate gently, and vuk followed the woman with gratitude writ upon her scarred features. in silence she lengthened her stride to match that of the alpha female's own. the question posed was at last something she could answer, and she did in a moment. "vuk," the theta profferred. such a small and simple single syllable, but it had been her title for as long as she could recall. she smiled gently at her alpha female. "ca ... ri," she attempted, before her ears flattened against her skull at the butchered name.
The girl’s interpretation of her name amused her – but her discomfort was apparent by the way the pale girl’s ears slid to her skull. “Nah, I’ll answer to that,” she assured with a lofty smile, and tipping her muzzle in a direction along one of the paths traveled upon the Ridge. “Walk with me?”
She didn’t wait for an answer – Vuk could choose not to, but she was curious to what her reaction would actually be. Canting her muzzle slightly, she watched to see if her companion would go with her, her eyebrows arching upward with encouragement.
capriccio was quickly becoming of great interest to vuk -- she commanded as though she had been born unto it, though she was not the mate of the alpha male. and while the lovely wolfess was kind in these moments, vuk sensed that she could become cold in a moment's notice.
willingly she quickened her steps to follow at the leader's side. vuk was seized with the urge to ask how the ridge had come to be founded, but it was an abstract question, and the girl was moved with a sense of
dejection. yet it passed in a moment; her tongue lolled happily and she woofed at capriccio, inviting her on a run.
I'm the worst, I'm sorry!
Her companion was one she held a comfortable silence with, despite having only met moments before. Her slender form loped to the direction of the borders, and when she canted her muzzle back to cast a gaze upon the pale girl, she noted the downtrodden expression – yet before Capri could question her, the girl’s features shifted to content once more, and with a woof, coaxed the Alpha to a run.
Hesitant at first, if only wondering what she might have done to bring such an initial reaction from the gentle girl, Capri took the bait for play instead, her own form jovial as she bounded after the pale she-wolf, her own yip of encouragement escaping her.
not at all!
the alpha female took only a moment before she swept into the playfulness of the moment, and vuk returned her small sound as she dashed as quickly as she could through the drifts. thus far, her reentry into a pack had been nothing sort of pleasant, and she was quite grateful to capriccio and taggarik for granting her succor upon the ridge.
had vuk known that the beautiful alpha female would soon come to see her as a threat, she would have thrown herself onto the leader's mercy, for she knew she did not desire the rank, nor children. not now -- perhaps she was an anomaly in this.
She loped after the girl with casual ease – her lips parted with a playful quirk as she would aim gentle nips to the girl’s form, aiming to miss purposely. Her own tail waved through the air with sound content, allowing their forms to drift to wherever they so pleased.
This was the sort of aspect of pack life she missed from Argent Creek – the ease of play.. the comradery. Something about Porcupine Ridge had allowed its members to fall in to such a state with ease, and for that she was grateful. They looked for respectful wolves at the borders, and Vuk had proved to be no different – though Capri wondered if females tended to appease Taggarik’s nature more.
With a sly grin, the Alpha stopped her quick pace, her posture bowing down now, rump wiggling in the air with the invitation for more serious play from her companion.
capriccio gave chase, and vuk laughed aloud at the sheer pleasure of it, the cold wind high in her throat, raking along her cheeks, her nape. she slowed only when she ceased to hear the soft press of her alpha female's paws upon the snow -- whirling, the pale girl spotted the lovely woman some feet away, body arranged into a play bow.
a game she had not tried before! vuk gave a short bark and trotted back to capri's presence before dropping down into a stance that mirrored the other's own -- in a moment she surged forward, pretending to bite the alpha's forepaw if she did not snatch it away!
Vuk twirled her slender form – a graceful arc that Capri would only hope to be able to mimic, though knew any attempt to do so would leave her flat upon her face. Vuk instead mirrored her, lunging forward to aim a faux attack upon her paws, to which a gentle laugh and squeal escaped the Alpha female before she raced off again, engaging the woman in to further chase.
It would be an afternoon of easy play – sometimes, getting to know ones pack mates was better this way, rather than a serious conversation.
fade here?
the experience of their shared play would remain with vuk for a long time to come; she would recall the loll of capriccio's tongue, the dance in the other's eyes. she rejoined in turn with her own laughter, as the joy of the day stamped itself indelibly upon her heart.