@Fox
Jace was on border patrol today again. He was learning his new borders, his pack land and trying to meet as many of his pack mates as he could. He was learning a lot about himself while he did it. He had yet to meet the Alpha Fox he thought her name was and he bristled as he recalled the words that Ira had thrown at him at the borders about her size. Who cared if the alpha was smaller than he, he wasn't being rude about it, the little upstart had asked him what his strengths were and obviously his size was one of them.
He snarled quietly to himself as he thought of the two long miserable days he had spent in the demons company and he wanted to throw himself at the nearest foe and rip it to shreds. His tolerance level had been pushed to it's limits as was his patience. He snorted again to himself and continued coming in to his inner home land, quickly dispatching a rabbit as it came to near to the youth.
It seemed that the vale had taken her words and twisted them, according to Jinx. It aggravated the tiny fireball to no end, but she would not allow the news to diminish her life. If they wished to think that they would claim neutral lands as their own, they were going to have a rough time of it. The creek would not sit idly by and watch all of their prey be eaten by their rival neighbor. They would continue to hunt and visit the neutral lands as they saw fit. Fox, of course, would ignore them to whatever extent was possible, but that was becoming more and more difficult as the nearby pack continued to act as if it owned the whole of Teekon Wilds.
Fox was heading out to the borders, hoping to freshen up the markings she had left there yesterday, when she caught a whiff of somebody she did not know (at least on a personal level). She had been told of Jace by Jinx, and the story of his acceptance was an amusing one, but Fox would not hold it against him. He had apparently passed Ira's test, and so the young Alpha was satisfied. She approached the male with her tail held over her back, though her demeanour was otherwise friendly. “I guess you passed,” she said, referring to his time spent with Ira. “Ira is a piece of work, isn’t he?” Fox got a kick out of Jinx's charge, though it was unlikely that she would ever admit that to him. The last thing she wanted to do was boost his ego.
Jace turned blue eyed gaze towards a smaller wolf with red fur. She looked like a red fox, he smiled and realized she must be his alpha Fox. He dipped his nose to the ground and moved his limbs and body into a submissive position.
Jace frowned at first not realizing what she was talking about until she said the pale furred one's name. It took a lot of his will power not to snarl just at the mere mention of the other pack mate. He chuckled in irony it almost sounded painful and then he spoke. "Yes I suppose I did pass. I would use far stronger language if there wasn't a lady present ma'm. He was not being rude nor mean and he would continue to work with Ira if the occasion called for it, but his father had always taught him to be honest as well as polite. I am Jace and you must be Fox. Ira spoke to me briefly about you.
Fox grinned, assuming that Ira and Jace weren't exactly best buddies after their two-day attached-at-the-hip fiasco. Jace's use of the word "lady" was hardly appropriate, considering Fox was anything but. The girl had always been more of a tomboy compared to her sisters, and she was always starting fights. "Wench" was probably the most appropriate word for the fireball.
“Oh yeah?” she asked when Jace commented that Ira had said a thing or two about her. “What kind of words did the devil have for me?” They had never been particularly close, and the only defining moment Fox recalled was when she had convinced him to chase ducks and insult them. Surely that had given Ira a lasting impression of her.
Regardless of whether or not she was a tomboy or an actual lady had no bearings on the manners or words of the dark furred youth. His mother had told him that every female was a lady and he best remember that, his mother was a queen among females, but she was also very strict when it came to manners and proper decorum.
Jace shook his head and grinned at her use of the term devil. The youth was definitely a spawn of something dark that he was sure of. It did not bode well for any future interactions that much was true. "I believe he referred to your size ma'm but only because i said i was suited to guardian work or warrior work because i was large. Ira eluded that I was making fun of your size which I would like to point out I was not. And he also told me your name and that was pretty much it. Unsure what to say about Ira, but deciding that honesty was the best policy that was what he did.
“Huh,” was Fox's reply after Jace had finished speaking. “Well, even if you had been belittling me for my size,” she said, offering up an obvious pun, “you wouldn’t be the first to do so.” Fox was rather used to others commenting on her size or about how she looked like the animal she was named after. Those who said these things were often thought of as simpletons in her mind. While these observations of her size may have bothered her in the past, she now rolled her eyes at them.
“But I’m afraid we have plenty of warriors and guardians here. Do you have other skills?” she asked. Fox was a warrior along with Jinx, and Njal made a fine warden. Haunter would likely fill that role as well, and Lecter was their only healer. It seemed Bazi intended to be their little messenger. Perhaps Jace could help round out the pack in other ways.
Jace chuckled and said quietly "I do not believe in judging another by how they look or their size. Jace had certainly thought in his mind that she much looked like a fox as her name was, but he would never tell her that. In his mind it was really very rude to comment on such a thing, some others could be sensitive.
Jace shifted yet again he was asked about his skills, did the others not report to the alpha? He guessed not anytime another wolf was at his former packs borders even if the beta was present the alpha was still the one that accepted them in the end. He began speaking though "I am a hunter I have hunt with just 2 and I have hunted with four counting myself. I am a fair paw at fishing. I dabble a bit in herbs, but not much I know enough to save my life. I am inquisitive and though I look slow and dumb I am a quick thinker on my feet and off. I am a fair runner so I can deliver messages quickly to others if needed. I am also as I have told you taught in the ways of fighting and such. that was jace in a nutshell he thought he had done well for himself. He felt that he was a well rounded individual. Jace knew very well that many thought him slow and dumb because he was larger than most, but he was neither of those things, though he was sure in a foot race that Fox would beat him.
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Fox listened as Jace listed off his skills, though she was unimpressed. He basically stated that he was good at everything, and she could not believe him. Nobody was good at everything. “Alright, buddy, what are you exceptionally good at?” she asked, hoping a rephrase of the question would have him headed in a more precise direction.
Fox could have easily listed off all the things she half-assedly knew, but she knew that she was a shit healer and communicator when it came to outsiders. She was far too brash for that kind of thing. Her skills were best put to use at the borders and when they wished to infiltrate another pack. If he knew his weaknesses, as Fox knew her own, that would do him some good.
Jace looked at her there was only a few things he was exceptionally good at and she had asked him about his skills he told her the things he could do. Even if he could only do them half way he could still do them, he felt that that would count as something. A youthful mistake of course.
He tilted his head and frowned as he thought. Fishing, hunting, thinking are my three best assets. " Though thinking may seem strange he was a naturally curious wolf and he squirreled away knowledge like many stored food. He was an avid fisher and hunter having learned those skills as soon as he could
He listed off just three this time, and Fox nodded to indicate that this was a better answer. Considering two of the three had to do with gathering sustenance, and the third could be used for just about anything, Fox thought it proper that he should continue to strengthen those skills. “In that case, I will put you in charge of keeping our caches full and making sure everybody is well-fed.” The yearling knew that Tuwawi took care of much of these duties, but considering she would likely be with child soon, it made sense to have a backup plan.
“It may also help to teach some of the newcomers how to fish,” she added, knowing that Ferdie struggled with that aspect of hunting. It was an art that not everybody learned early in life. Fox had learned to fish shortly after arriving in the creek, and thankfully she had not struggled with the technique for long.
Jace had seen the red fire female Tuwawi he had liked the time he spent with her. she had been kind to him. He would gladly hunt for the new pack of his. He did not mind that at all, he actually enjoyed it a lot. There was nothing quite like running after prey. "I will do that gladly."
He grinned at the thought of teaching others to fish. He really did enjoy fishing the secret was to go after their shadows not the actual fish, because the shadows were actually the fish. It was a strange concept but one he knew about. "I will teach them though i do not know who is new myself being new. Is there any other duties that you would have me do that everyone does?
“Nothing outside of the usual,” she replied in the next beat. Wolves instinctually knew what to do on a regular basis, and she assumed that Jace would be no different. Perhaps the only wolf she had met who had lacked these social norms was Ferdie, but even he had made leaps and bounds in his social problems since he had arrived. He now acted like any "normal" pack wolf should, and she was pleased with his progress. The strange and often-immature Ferdie had turned out to be a pleasant addition to the pack in the end, and it seemed he had even taken a liking to Bazi, which Fox approved of.
“You might start with Ferdie,” she added after a moment, remembering that he had trouble with fishing. Perhaps getting a proper lesson from a pro like Jace would help him in that area. With a little bit of guidance and instruction, Fox had no doubt that the meticulously clean wolf would be able to grab fish out of the water in no time. In fact, it gave her a wonderful idea for a future gathering, which she stored neatly away for use in the next few weeks.
Jace dipped his head and he was one that knew instinctually what to do. He would patrol and hunt and help out his pack mates where he could. He would also continue ot work on his other skills when he was not honing his main 3. He was thrilled to be able to be of use to his alpha and his pack.
The name Ferdie did not ring a bell in his mind although Bazi had spoken of such a wolf. "He is the one that lives with Bazi in her den yes? He had not meant the wolf yet he did not even know what he looked like. "What does he look like I have yet to meet him. I can seek him out after i take my leave of you ma'm.
Fox nodded when Jace wanted confirmation that Ferdie lived with Bazi. He asked what his future-student looked like, but since Fox thought appearances were a terrible way to tell one another apart when they had such keen noses, she replied with an answer that stated as much. “You’ll be able to pick up on his scent at their den. You should be able to track him down from there.” If Jace was a good hunter like he claimed to be, that would be a walk in the park.
“I believe their den is that way,” added Fox, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the Bazi and Ferdie residence. “I’m going to finish up with the borders. I’ll let you know if I need anything else from you.” And with that, Fox trotted off in the direction she had been heading before she had come across the raven.
Jace nodded his head feeling like a fool. He should have not even asked about what he looked like realizing that the alpha was a no nonsense type. He was berating himself up badly in his mind for that faux pas. what had he been thinking. He sighed to himself.
He dipped his muzzle in respect and as she walked off he headed in the direction she had pointed hoping that he could find this Ferdie. He would teach him to fish and he would make him the best fisher he could, that way his leader may not think him such a fool.
