Wolf RPG

Ever since they had arrived here, she had stuck close to the rest of them, not exploring by much. Most of the time she just sat alone, occasionally looking at the others. She wanted to talk to the others. But no one had come to talk to her. One thing with Heartha, she rarely went to talk to others unless they came to talk to her.

But today felt different. She decided to go out and explore. Maybe spot a suitable place for the pups, if any ever came which she was sure would happen one day. A place for them to thrive. A birthing den. That was something she needed to do first. What else was she to get done? She wasn't much of a hunter, not much of a talker to others. She may as well have done something. And so she went, a skip in her step and her tail swaying slowly.

Things had been mostly peaceful for now, it seemed, but a few hiccups in that line were sure to come, he knew. They'd passed a pack not long ago, and it seemed there was activity to at least one side of their Glade home. 
It was to the borders Charley left for that morning, but a scent drew him a little off course. Heartha, one of their recruits, was close by. He had yet to talk and bond with any so far, but knew Aspen saw something in the woman. When she came into view, the dappled King loosed a friendly chuff and strode calmly over to her. 
           "Good morning, Heartha. How are you this morning? Care to come mark the borders with me, mark this place as your own, next to us?"

As it turned out, her original plan for the day would have to be different as someone came by and addressed her. She bowed down in respect to her alpha and listened. She felt it a priviledge to walk alongside the alpha, as well as mark the territory alongside one of them

"I would be honored. Lead the way, if you wish to." She felt fluttery in her stomach at doing this, as in her past she never had much time spent with either alpha. They mostly frowned upon her. Had even left her and some of the pack to fend for themselves when the hairless ones came. "Has Aspen spoken about me much?" Her tail wagged, wondering what good things the other alpha could have said.

Charley felt a rush of pride come with her bow: he was a king, yes, and everyone here bowed beneath him. However, he found he was not as harsh of a leader as he thought he would be. Perhaps the events of recent days have him a little scrambled, yeah thats it. 
            "Not much, other than she think's you're a promising recruit. Can you tell me about yourself?"
He strode forward to where he knew the borders were, but even along the way would hike up his leg and pee on anything that didn't smell enough like him. He spoke as he went, telling her a little about himself to make her feel more at home. 
                         "Im a warrior, and I'd like to maybe be a councleor one day."

Heartha stopped every now and then to help in the marking wherever she thought it best. She wasn't used to this kind of stuff near the border, since she mostly spent her time deep inside. Her ears perked up in slight pride. So she had been spoken about. That was something to be proud of in her mind. 

"I'm a den mother. I looked after not only my two young ones, but many others. Only one litter was all I had to myself, but one was enough to teach me many things." Even if it had only been for a few months with one, and a week with the other.

"Interesting choice of professions. So you like both peaceful talk and fighting?" It seemed that way, with one profession being of inner peace and the other of violent acts. One ear folded on one side as she cocked her head in a curious manner. "My oldest, he always spoke of wanting to be a fighter. Proved it many times in wrestling with other pups. Always came out on top." A light-hearted chuckle followed. But deep inside, hidden in the light feelings, there was a heavy sadness.

Charley could tell the woman was proud to be here beside him, and even through his wonder it made him happy to know he was helping in some way. She was easy to talk to, and swift to answer his question. She was a den mother, huh? She WOULD come into great use soon, rather as soon as Aspen went into heat. She'd had her own pups before, knew what it was to put up with the little rascals. 
Thank god, because Charley found himself more and more nervous as his wife's heat approached. She wasn't even pregnant yet and Charley was worried about parenthood.
                     "Hopefully you find your way inside the inner circle before our pups do then, cause I know I'll need help."
 She also commented on his trades, and he had to let out a laugh. It was true, they were different, but he also saw it as more than that. 
                                   "You could see it like that, or you could see it that I love to help those close to me and defend them too." 
Her wistful words weren't missed, and he fixed her with a questioning blue glance. Her laugh didn't reach her eyes, and the King lowered his head to her level.
                                                  "Want to talk about it?"

Him saying that made her feel even more welcomed into the pack. More hopeful even about doing what she was good at. Caring for the offspring of others. She shared his laugh at her comment on his trades. But then it came around to the last thing she said.

"Two were killed...The third, the youngest..he was taken from me. Why I mentioned I had two, is because the third was not mine. But I treated them as such." She had the same blank expression Aspen had found her with. That feeling of being lost without her children came back.

The pale woman had seemed excited about everything before he asked about the pups, and Charley knew he hit a raw nerve. As they walked and marked the border, his ears kept turned towards her to show he was listening, and now he turned his face to glance back at her with carribean eyes. She'd lost pups? How heartbreaking.... The King couldn't imagine the pain of losing your own son or daughter. 
                      "That's horrible, Heartha, I'm sorry. Who took the little one from you?"
It seemed she wouldn't fight his questions, be it she realized he was trying to help and be a good counselor or just because she thought he was nosy, yet in truth it was probably a bit of both.
On some good note, however, the fact that she'd already taken in pups was a relief. It proved she really did love what she did, caring for babies, even if it seemed she hadn't succeeded. 
                                         "I can tell you'll be a good caretaker to my pups, and I can't wait to see you into the Inner Circle."

Heartha sighed longingly. She still remembered those hairless creatures, coming in something that looked like an outer skin except their head. And sticks in their hands that cracked like thunder without snapping into pieces, shooting invisible burning lightning through her ear. Her pierced ear flicked at the memory.

"He..He was taken." Really she didn't know whether it was a he or she. But she raised him, even if it was for week, as a he. "Taken by monsters that shoot lightning from sticks, that wear skin over skin."

Heartha bowed her head to Charley. "Thank you. That makes me feel much better" she said as her tail wagged in renewed hope and joy. "How much further do we have?" she asked. If they had any longer, she would have rathered to go in silence the rest of the way, to let the reflection on her memory go.

Charley knew of humans, knew the things they were capable was. He pictured them in his head as her words, and a shudder ran down his spine. Yes, he knew what she meant, he and Emory had traveled a lot and humans were a known thing. But the King had been so far lucky enough to be unaffected by the ugly beasts. He had already noted the circle through the denmother's ear, and assumed that the two things were one and the same. A scowl darkened his inky face, nose wrinkling to pull up his lips and show the tips of ivory fangs. It clearly wasn't aimed at her, however, as his blue eyes glared down at his own massive paws. 
              "Humans, think they can take whatever they want and do whatever they want. I'm sorry you lost your babies, Heartha, I am. If they were taken alive though, maybe they're still alive out there somewhere."
He tried giving her some sense of comfort, licking behind her ear as she bowed her head. She seemed a little better with his help, and that brought a soft smile to his maw. Looking around at her final question, he shook his head and led them back into the Glade.
                                   "We're done here, for now. We aren't the only ones who need to leave our scent, and if we do it all then nobody else will." 

Humans. She shuddered at the name, a quiet little whimper escaping her closed mouth. That was the only time she ever came into contact with them. The whole reason she came out here was to get away from them. Had she been a fighter, she would have given chase. But she was no fighter. She was a pacifist...Well, mostly a pacifist.

She nodded, then started to veer off. "If you will excuse me, I should get going. Explore the commoner area a bit more and all that." Heartha gave one final bow before going off in another direction.

She began to follow, but it seemed she needed a moment to herself. Hopefully, he'd been able to help her a little bit. With a warm smile, Charley nodded, nudged her shoulder in friendliness, and went off his own way. He planned to go back to Aspen now, see how her day was. Living life as a King, even unofficial, was so far lovely. Dealing with tresspassers, fighting, all the tedious work, it was all simply glorious to the Pryor. It was his dream, after all, to run his own family with a mate by his side.