Wolf RPG

Peregrine could now move about the clearing with minimal pain but equally limited mobility; it would still be some weeks before he could assume his duties again. It was difficult for him. He found himself fighting depression, though all the extra time spent with the pups definitely helped; they were his little rays of sunshine in a sky that was sometimes dark and troubling these days.

With so much time to sit and think, the Alpha male had spent quite a while mulling the state of his ranks. With Blue Willow taking the wheel, he felt confident that the pack was in good hands despite his own limitations. Still, he knew firsthand how lackluster leadership could really impact the pack's ability to succeed, so he decided it would be a good idea to recruit at least one other leader. And the choice was obvious.

When he found himself alone (Hawkeye had taken the pups for another swim today and Kisu was off on his own somewhere, likely brooding), the Alpha called, "Atticus!" into the morning silence. "Come hither!" His lips twitched and he sat down with a sigh, his back resting against the trusty sycamore. This was not only his chance to offer his brother the promotion (which he deserved) but also a good opportunity to let Atticus know he was wholly forgiven.

For a change, Atticus was actually near the rendezvous site rather than somewhere on the outlands of their territory. He lay stretched in the sun, resting and soaking up the cleansing warmth of its rays, feeling all of the stress and exertion of the recent weeks easing out of his muscles and bones. He'd encountered a lot of wolves near their packlands recently, a few of those encounters coming close to violence -- the wounds of his first fight still riddled his body, healing -- and it took a lot out of him. But it also gave him a huge sense of worth and accomplishment. He was actively contributing to his pack. Even when he slept, he protected them by resting within a few seconds' run to their rendevous site. He was keeping his brother and the puppies safe. That was all that mattered to him.

His lazy lounging was interrupted by a quick howl from his brother, but it was a welcome interruption. Perry had needed some time and space after their last talk, and Atticus had given him that. He'd missed Peregrine, though, and was glad to hear that voice rise on the summery air. He rose to his feet, shook out his coat, and made his way toward the rendezvous site. He arrived within a few minutes and greeted his brother with a grin. "Really, dude?" he asked with a gleam in his eye as he drew near. "Hither?"

Atticus arrived swiftly, prompting Peregrine to quip, "Man, I think you might be even faster than Willow." He lapsed into silence, his eyes lightening when his brother made fun of his choice of words. "Yes," he said, "draw nigh, good sir, for I have news to impart..." He snickered lightly and translated by saying, "I actually have to ask you something, barf bag," while motioning with his good leg for Atticus to sit down and make himself comfortable.

When his brother appeared to be situated, Peregrine said, "I'll get straight to the point. I want to make sure this bum leg isn't holding back the entire pack. I want to promote you into leadership to assist myself and Willow." He paused for only a fraction of second, barely giving his brother a chance to absorb the news, before plunging onward. "I was thinking of starting you off as Beta. 'Start off?' you ask. 'Has my brother gone daft? Where else could I go?' Well, I say start off because... I was thinking that if you and Willow ever make things official and the two of you would like to be the Alpha pair, I want you to know I'd be happy to step aside and let you have your chance to shine, seeing as I've had mine."

Peregrine drew in a deep breath and exhaled with a lopsided, questioning smile. He hoped Atticus would be happy and flattered by the news. He hoped his brother would accept the Beta position for now and give his future offer real consideration. Although he loved being an Alpha himself, Peregrine wanted what was best for the pack and its future. And he'd thought about this whole scenario a lot. If Atticus ended up wanting that, he would happily take his single, gimpy ass and step down, supporting his brother and his wife as their Beta.

Atticus got comfy, grinning forever at being called a barf bag but offering no retort. Peregrine was quick to jump to business, and by the time he finished explaining everything, Atticus was staring at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"You want me to be a leader?" he asked in disbelief. He'd never really aspired to such high ranking in his life. Even when he'd been a puppy, he'd always been lower on the totem pole than the other pups, particularly Perry and Osprey, and had never imagined he'd be given an opportunity at fucking Alphaship. The fact that he was Gamma right now still hadn't really sunk in, and he'd held this rank for a few weeks now. Beta? Alpha?

Wow.

He shook his head as if to bring himself back to the present and looked at Perry. "I'm…I mean...yeah, man. Absolutely. Anything you need me to do to help out, you know I'll do it. I just wasn't expecting this." He chuckled, the surprise evident on his face. He didn't know how to be a Beta, but prior to becoming Gamma, he hadn't known how to be the highest-ranked, non-leadership wolf in a pack either, and he'd done just fine at that. "As for the Alpha thing, though…I don't think I could out-do you. You're an awesome leader. And Willow and me…that's got a long way to go anyway. So don't go anywhere, asshole."

Atticus's reaction tickled him and gave Peregrine a deep sense of satisfaction and joy that combated the doldrums that seemed to be lurking over his head like a little black cloud lately. It was boyishly charming, the way his brother seemed genuinely flabbergasted at the offer; he was sincerely unaware of how much he deserved this kind of recognition and how well he'd do given this opportunity.

"Thanks for stroking the old ego," Peregrine replied. "And I know you two are still in the 'making gooey eyes at each other but only when the other one isn't looking' stage... so, yeah, it's a preemptive offer but I mean it all the same. If and when the time comes, I want you to know it'll be there on the table. You can have the girl, the rank, the kids, all of it... the picture perfect life. You deserve it, you know." And Peregrine felt sure Atticus and Blue Willow wouldn't crash and burn the way he and Hawkeye had.

"In the meantime, I'd love you to be my Beta, brudda. Consider the rank officially yours, effective immediately." He paused. "Now go make make me a sandwich, bitch."

Atticus grinned, warmed by his brother's sincere words and by the doors that Peregrine was opening for him. He had no desire whatsoever to unseat Perry as Alpha -- although he believed his brother and knew Perry wouldn't see it that way -- but it was good to know that the option was always there if he wanted it someday. Being an Alpha was a lot of work, though, and Atticus felt like his hands were full enough already. It certainly had changed Peregrine for the better, though. His brother had become more responsible, more mature, centered, and grounded, since taking up the mantle of Alpha. Granted, they still had their goofy, stupid moments, and probably always would, but there had most definitely been changes. Maybe the same would hold true for Atticus if ever he dared to walk through that door. Only time would tell.

"Excuse me, but I spend all day kicking asses on the borders and bringing home the bacon for your kids while you lay around in bed and play with yourself. If one of us is a bitch, it certainly isn't me." A mischievous grin accompanied his words and he longed to jostle his brother roughly on the shoulder, but refrained from doing so because of Perry's wounds. "That reminds me. I'm sure you probably figured as much, but I'm doing the Warden thing now. I figure Hawkeye's got her hands full with the kids and shit, so I'm picking up the slack." Many of the other wolves in their pack were still fairly new, and he knew that Perry would appreciate knowing that someone he could trust was on guard and helping to hold down the fort.

Although he meant it as a joke and Peregrine usually had a thick skin, he winced inwardly at his brother's jab. He felt the little black cloud's shadow slip over his head once more but hid it well, returning his brother's grin. It broadened genuinely when the newly crowned Beta male declared himself the pack's up-and-coming Warden. His eyes did flicker darkly for a brief second in reaction to the mention of his ex-wife's name but otherwise his expression remained light.

"Awesome to hear, man," Peregrine lauded, then gave his brother a meaningful look and added in a conversational voice, "You know, the kids are actually growing up pretty fast and don't need us to look after them as much anymore. We're even letting them go off on their own sometimes... always in groups," he clarified. "Crazy, isn't it?" A touch of sadness entered his tone.

Shaking his head, Peregrine asked, "But, seriously, wanna do something to commemorate this? It's a big day, dude." He paused when something occurred to him and he laughed. "We could start by running it by Blue Willow. I forgot that I should probably ask her input first before making decisions like this." He chuckled a bit longer, then smirked at Atticus as he said, "I doubt she'll be anything but an enormous fan of the idea, though."

"Yeah…" he agreed softly in response to his brothers comments about the kids. "They're growing up so fast. I feel like every time I blink, I miss something." On one hand, he couldn't wait to see what the future would bring as each of the pups grew up and became their own people. But on the other hand, their puppyhood was speeding by way too damned quickly. The fact that they were already wandering around on their own was proof of that. Soon, they would be learning to hunt and thinking about trade apprenticeships of their own.

Thoughts of his brother's kids brought to mind thoughts of his own kids. He hadn't seen Kraken or Bones for a while now. He worried about them -- particularly Bones, since she'd gone to such trouble to find him and had been visiting fairly regularly -- but he couldn't go looking for them. His place was here, and Bones had known that when she chose to remain with the pack at Swiftcurrent Creek.

He snickered as his brother mentioned that he'd forgotten to tell his co-Alpha about this promotion. "That's going to get you in trouble one of these days, bro," he commented with a grin. "But yeah, we need to fill her in. And anything that involves me seeing her is a good idea in my book." Though they were still only getting to know one another, Atticus was becoming seriously interested in Blue Willow. It wasn't even so much a physical attraction, as was usually the case with men. It was her personality and her intelligence that drew him in more than anything else.

"I only had the throne to myself for a few weeks too. I think it went to my head," Peregrine quipped, referencing the period where he'd shared the Alpha rank with no one between Hawkeye's demotion and Blue Willow's eventual promotion. "I'll do better," he promised with a slight smirk, "and I'll try to include you too." Really, at the end of the day, which brother was Alpha and which was Beta didn't really matter. They were a cohesive unit (again) now and Peregrine would really always consider them equals.

"Like I said, I think she'll be nothing but thrilled. Still, I'd definitely like to make sure she gets her say." The swarthy Alpha winked at Atticus and jostled him with his shoulder before throwing back his head and sending out a short, deep howl to summon the plateau's reigning female. After his call tapered away, he turned back to his sibling and murmured, "And I'll let you mention my offer to her whenever the time is right for you."

Blue heard the call from her co-alpha and friend and looking around at her den and the amount of herbs she had laying around the ground as she sorted and took stock she let loose a sigh. He would call her when she was in the middle of something, she acknowledged that thought with a small smile. She really didn't mind.

She loped into view and froze when she saw the two brothers together. She wasn't sure what to expect now. It made her a little bit nervous, but she strode forward anyway. She sat to her haunches near the two and gave them both a small smile You called Perry?

Atticus grinned and chuckled as his brother spoke, agreeing with him but having little to add. He was glad to be a leader alongside Peregrine. Even though he didn't really know what he was supposed to do as Beta, he figured it would come with time and he would settle into the role naturally, just as he'd done each time he'd climbed higher in the ranks. It felt good to know that he and his brother were running a pack together, though. It felt right.

He waited, his heart fluttering and his nerves tingling with anticipation, as Perry howled for Blue Willow. Her den wasn't far from here, so she didn't take very long to show up, and as soon as he saw her, a wide grin broke out over his face and his tail thumped the ground where he sat. He remained quiet, allowing Peregrine to explain the situation to her first.

When his fellow Alpha appeared, Peregrine greeted her with a grin and a wave of his dark tail. He glanced between Blue Willow and Atticus, trying to detect any secret signals or glances. They'd make a cute couple, he mused, then cleared his throat in preparation to impart the news on his friend.

"I've asked Atticus to be our Beta," he said to Blue Willow, "unless you have any issues with that. He can be a dickbutt." He smirked affectionately at his brother, then met Blue Willow's gaze, and finished, "But I think the three of us would make an incredible team."

Blue Willow chuckled, but her eyes went wide at the description that Peregrine gave. If you say so though I have never seen him be anything but a gentleman Perry. she teased them both gently. No I have no argument against and I think you are right, we will all make a good team. Perhaps you two more so than me. they were close even for brothers and she felt that they could handle anything really if they put up a united front. She shifted her weight and shook her head at Peregrine's smirk, her green eyes alight with the same mirth that had her shaking her head.

He leered at Peregrine when Blue Willow mentioned that he himself been a gentleman, remembering the comment he'd made to her recently to the effect of, You must live in a pretty bad neighborhood if you think Perry's a gentleman. Of course, Atticus knew she was right, for he'd always been on his best behavior with her, but it was still amusing to him.

"Thanks, Blue," he said to her when she finished speaking, flashing her an appreciative grin and thumping his tail on the ground where he sat.

"Nah, we couldn't do it without you, Willow. I really mean that," Peregrine said, nudging the crown of his head against her shoulder in a companionable gesture. "You're the best. In fact, effective today along with Atticus's promotion is our new pack slogan: 'mess with the best and die like the rest.'" He grinned cheekily.

After exchanging glances with his co-leaders, his eyes settled on Atticus and he gave his brother a meaningful look. It said, Don't forget about my proposal. Aloud, he rolled his shoulders and said, "Ah, well, I'm gonna head off to do some stuff. You two should go do something to celebrate. I'll catch up with you both later." The Alpha male made a point to give each of them a slobbery smooch to the cheek before cackling lightly and hobbling away.

Blue made a small noise in her throat not quite disgust but not quite happy either. The sloppy wet kiss was just too much, a small lick a nudge yes, but to leave her cheek wet with saliva did not thrill her. She gave the male a mock glare, but all too soon she shot him a grin and dipped her muzzle to the ground in thanks for his kind words.

She turned back to Atticus and gave a small smile and spoke softly Do you want to celebrate your promotion? I was just going to sort herbs today, if you decide you want to. She then turned away and was going to head back to her den to indeed sort herbs. She wasn't sure how they could celebrate, maybe with a hunt or something.

Atticus followed his brother's departure with a look of ire, wiping his drool-smeared cheek with a forepaw, but he couldn't be annoyed for long. A grin cracked over his face and a muffled laugh followed. Peregrine was such a jackass. Blue Willow asked him if he'd like to sort herbs with her as celebration for his promotion, and while he couldn't think of too many things that sounded more dull, he readily agreed just because it would allow him to spend time with her. "Sure, I'd love to. Maybe I'll learn somethin' new," he commented as he followed her to her den, his exhilaration at being near her magnified by the elation he still felt over his promotion.