Wolf RPG

 

The streak of rain was behind the Teekons for a brief reprieve, bringing favorable conditions upon the Plains and beyond. Rannoch had been waiting for the opportunity where there was no threat of rain as he wanted to ensure favorable traveling conditions for the youngest members of the band. He had been wanting to take them out scouting for a new territory for them to settle and it seemed as if the perfect day to do so had come upon them. 

He was at the river near where they had settled when the thought dawned on him, water droplets falling from his chops as an enlightened expression settled upon his face. Not wasting much time, as the day was aging by every moment that ticked by, Rannoch lifted his head, beckoning for @Redshank and @Titmouse to join him by the river.

Of all the territories they had come across so far, this one was Redshank's least favourite. The plains of nothing but swaying grasslands seemed to go on for miles — it was so boring. The rain didn't help his bitter mood, either. The mountains to the east were looking more and more appealing by the day and, thankfully, Rannoch had also let them know they weren't settling here, at least.

Today, the monsoon-like spell seemed to finally give them a moment to dry off and Redshank took his chance. However, it seemed that Rannoch had different plans for him. The boy scowled as the call went up and he half thought about simply ignoring it. He thought back to his lesson, though and, with an almighty groan, he rolled his head and trudged off in the direction the howl had come from.

As he was not keen to leave Liffey for any amount of time at all (which made lots of her waking moments irritating probably, or at the very least inconvenient) the summoning call did not appeal to Titmouse so much. With some urging from his caretaker though, Tit was half escorted and half kicked in the direction of Rannoch. The boy was left stranded for only a few minutes before he gave in and hunted down the big gray wolf, all the while showing more interest in trying to eat the tall stalks of grass all around him; he looked like a flying fish leaping free of the waves as he bounced along, nipping at the tallest stalks and often missing the mark.

The approaching footfalls of the pack's youngest members informed Rannoch of their arrival far before he had seen them. When the boys came into sight, Rannoch perked, watching each of their arrivals with a carefully. Though they were safe in his watch, Rannoch wanted to see how well they would listen in an attempt to test them and their willingness to listen. If they didn't listen, Rannoch would take the appropriate steps reprimend their behavior so they'd get the point.  From a distance, Redshank's strides appeared more motivated than Titmouse, as the wolf from the Caldera seemed more interested in flopping about the tall grasses and biting at the stalks. 

"Boys," beckoned Rannoch gruffly, attempting to catch both of their attention. He was unsure if they had met before, but, Rannoch figured that an adventure would be an opportune instance to do so. "Come here so we can get going-- I want to take you boys scouting." There was something in Rannoch's tone that was borderline fatherly; affectionate yet stern and was not something to be messed with.

A scent hit his nose as he came within visible distance of Rannoch and he stopped his approach. The beginnings of a smile were quickly wiped off his face as he tested the air again before he crinkled his nose in disgust. His large ears swivelled as he picked up the noise of something bouncing around in the grasses and he stared pointedly at the flash of grey that appeared briefly above the stalks. It was him.

Redshank looked back accusingly at Rannoch as he spoke, commanding them to close the distance so they could get going. Where? Redshank didn't know but he did not want to go anywhere with that little twerp (if it was indeed who he thought it was). What was he even doing here anyway? Last time they met each other, Redshank was sure he had smelt quite strongly of a single territory. That usually indicated a pack, right?

With a lift of his lip, the boy stomped forward through the grasses, trying to bring himself to his full height. However, he did keep his tail against his hind legs and resisted raising it in a show of dominance, remembering both of the times Rannoch had reprimanded him. "What the fu—" he stopped himself before the word slipped out. "What is he doin' here?"

Boop! Boop! Bounce! Titmouse frolicked happily through the grass, unphased that his snapping and playing amounted to nothing more than a bit of commotion. A few times he came down wrong and nearly face planted, or turned in a way that looked chaotic - like he was about to lose balance - but with a word from Rannoch, Tit launched away from the grass and straight for him. He made it a few feet before an agitated voice broke his concentration. Recognition of the dark boy was slow, and he said nothing, becoming uncharacteristically quiet before the two strangers - but eyes were on the adult.

It was interesting to Rannoch to see the differences between the two cubs. Redshank, on the one hand, was headstrong and forthcoming; approaching the situation with Titmouse passionately. Titmouse, on the contrary, approached the situation in a very playful manner; making his way to the meetup by play and ignoring the potential conflict quietly. Rannoch looked between the pair, instantaneously curious to what had set Redshank off about Titmouse. 

"Redshank," began Rannoch, his head tilting, "this is Titmouse, one of our newer members." Even with the spoken introduction, there was the question of Redshank's dissatisfaction with the other wolf. "Have you boys met before?" He asked, attempting to get a better grasp on the situation that had presented itself.

He could vaguely remember the altercation in the forest, but for some reason he'd glommed on to the fact he'd found another living thing, not the quality of that thing. It was what had driven Titmouse through the Bramblewood initially; what had set him off the path with Lagan and brought him to Liffey. He was by no means cognizant of these facts though. When Rannoch asked his question, Titmouse just rolled his shoulders and came slinking over towards the bigger wolf, his eyes slipping from the dark blot that was Redshank and to more interesting things.

Where we goin'? He asked next, boisterous and crackling in the manner of a prepubescent creature. His tail raised and wagged gayly behind him, enough so that his hips swayed a little bit too, and the grass around his butt was easily whacked away.

The fact that the other boy didn't seem to recognise him made Redshank all the more angry. His scowl could wilt flowers, teeth grit so tightly they pained his gums. He stalked forward even more slowly on stiff, unwilling limbs, eyes trained upon the small child. If he was quick, maybe he could snap his neck and run. He knew Rannoch would most definitely not approve of it but...if he was fast enough...

The older male's question caused Redshank's gaze to flick to him for a split second before locking back onto the other as he crept quietly over to Rannoch's side. Titmouse. What a stupid name. Standing stock still, fur prickling, the boy answered lowly, "yeah." He paused, staring daggers at Titmouse before he looked up at his Alpha with a wrinkle of his snout. "He was bein' annoying so I tried to kill him. I think somethin's wrong with him."

Rannoch was just about to answer Titmouse, but, suddenly, the Alpha found himself distracted by Redshank and the information he disclosed. Though Rannoch had noticed the aggression in the way that Redshank had positioned himself, Rannoch had assumed that the stakes had been so severe. Taking a moment to absorb the information, the Alpha met the news with disbelief. Blinking rapidly, Rannoch moved as though he was attempting to speak, but only found silence as he contemplated his response. 



"Well, we won't be having any killings here," her clarified after a long pause, his brows lifting with concern. "Titmouse is now your packmate, and you will teach him as such." Rannoch had been teaching Redshank of how to assert his dominance over the other puppies, and it was this behavior that the Alpha was implying when he spoke. Giving Redshank one last, hard, glance, Rannoch then began to split his attention between the pack's youngest members. 

"I want to take you both out exploring." He began fter her had recollected himself, knowing it was time for the children to spread their wings. "At the base of the mountains, there are some good areas for climbing, and I want you both how to learn." Though Rannoch was not sure where they would settle, he was growing more aware that their next leg of the journey might involve mountain climbing.

Words were exchanged and Titmouse just sort of.. stared. Back and forth. Kinda like the look that painted Rannoch's face, but much blanker. He didn't remember exactly what had happened in the forest when he'd met Redshank before, and had likely blocked it out - which cause some ire to the dark boy of course. Titmouse had a bad memory though. It was just the way of things.

He did sort-of-vaguely remember the panic, and gave a nod as if to say, oh yeah, yeah that did happen, mhm. Not even an ounce of worry plagued the boy. But Rannoch was talking and the more the older wolf spoke, the more interested Titmouse became in that part of the conversation - until he was wiggling butt-first at the very idea of exploration.

Yeah! Lessgo! I wanna see -- uhh -- see things! An' go climbing! His raspy personified-gravel voice boomed out of his tiny lungs exuberantly, and he bounced around Rannoch with glee.

Something was definitely wrong with him. Rannoch's words were regarded only with a swivel of Redshank's ear and a soft huff as he continued to stare at the other kid who was quickly becoming the bane of his existence. While he knew it wouldn't be wise to outright kill him, he couldn't promise harm wouldn't come to Titmouse if he was left alone with him. Training. Dominance. Play. All good excuses and chances for him to get a nice, solid bite in.

Redshank's ears splayed out as Titmouse's voice grated his ears and he gave a hard look to Rannoch. Great. What a fun day this would be. In the face of such child-like excitement, Redshank remained stoic and collected, trying to be the more grown up of the two. The prospect of climbing wasn't one to get him hyped, and the boy groaned. "I already know how t'climb." He didn't really, but he would take any chance he could get to get away from Titmouse and out of this entire escapade.

Mixed reviews of his agenda came in from his audience, and to this, he frowned lightly. All too aware of Redshank's dislike for Titmouse, Rannoch found himself not entirely convinced that the earth-pelted child could walk the walk of the talk he talked. After all, the groan that he had ushered had not fallen on deaf ears. "Oh, that's great, Redshank," praised Rannoch with a wave of his tail. If Redshank were telling the truth, he would be a great asset to teaching Titmouse. And if he wasn't? Then Rannoch would have a lesson to teach the molten-eyed boy. 

"Do you want Redshank to help teach you climbing?" He asked the newest recruit, turning his attention to the boy who had responded so positively to his idea.

Redshank spoke of his skills and Titmouse, still bouncing and full of cheer, stopped and whipped his head around to stare at him. He was slack-jawed; awed by the admission by the other child. When Rannoch asked his question the small boy nodded vigorously and seemed to dance between the two wolves present. Lets go! I wanna do the thing!! C'mon Redshank lets go climb!

His plan backfired quite immediately as Rannoch turned and praised his non-existent climbing skills, and Redshank felt a burning sensation flare up at his cheeks. He was suddenly conflicted, wanting to back-pedal and explain that he was just kidding, jeez! but also wanting to continue feeding his ego and play along with the lie. His tail thumped against his hindquarters in frustration, his eyes giving an almost pleading look to Rannoch. Please don't make me do this. As if that would get him anywhere.

The commanding look that the Alpha shot back was enough of an answer.

Titmouse piped up again with his annoying exuberance and Redshank shifted before striding forward to meet the two and begin their trek to the mountainside. "Tch, fine," he said, though he did give a hard stare to the other child again. If anything, at least he might have a chance to "accidentally" push the other kid off the mountain.