Wolf RPG

Peregrine perched on the edge of the plateau, his face pointed toward the eastern horizon as he patiently awaited daybreak. It had taken him almost an hour to get here and his leg was sore for his effort, yet he felt freer than he had in weeks. He sucked in a deep breath, held it, then let it out in a long, low whoosh. To him, the air tasted fresher than it did deeper in the woods, where he'd been trapped since breaking his leg.

He momentarily turned, his black muzzle pointing downward toward the sprawling grasslands below. The ribbon of Whitefish River sparkled dully in the pre-dawn light. Peregrine licked his lips, realizing suddenly that he was very thirsty. As soon as the sun rose, he would rise too and head toward the nearest source of water for a drink.

Fireblaze was wide awake when it was still dark. She decided to watch the sun rise. As she padded out of the camp, she thought she saw a glimpse of another wolf. Racing forth, she realized who it was.

"Perry," she called. "What are you doing here?" She had been hoping to see him, alone again, to talk to him about BDP. Finally, she reached him, just as the sun broke over the grounds in front of them. "Want to go get a drink at the river?"

When someone called his name, the swarthy male turned, his lips twitching slightly as his eyes fell on Fireblaze. He still didn't know what to make of her. She seemed vapid and flighty, though he'd heard she was making friends, so that was good. As she approached, he noted her lack of submission and he growled lightly and arched his head to remind her of her place; she was currently the lowest wolf on the totem pole.

"No, I can't risk walking down the slope," he told her, indicating his broken foot. He glanced sideways as the sun broke over the horizon and said nothing for a long moment as he admired it. When he turned back to Fireblaze, he added, "But I am thirsty, so if you want to come with me, I'm going to find a puddle or something. It's going to be slow going," he warned.

Fireblaze immediately changed her posture, to a submissive one. "Yes Perry," she mumbled, "I forgot about your leg."

Fireblaze still had an odd feeling that he didn't like her. Head bowed and tail tucked beneath her back legs, she waited for him to lead the way. As she stood, she heard a mouse around them. Brightening up, she said "Hold on a second," and raced into the woods.

The mouse was easily spotted, and she quickly killed it. Grabbing the mouse, she trudged back to Peregrine. Dropping the mouse in front of him, she laid down in her most submissive posture, gazing up at him as she rolled around in the dirt.

She apologized and corrected herself, which earned an appreciate nod from the Alpha male. "It's fine," he said simply, eyes roving over her prone form for a moment before he turned slowly and began to hobble back toward the trees.

When she told him to hold on a second, Peregrine paused and shot her an impatient look... but she'd already disappeared into the woods. Sighing heavily, he stood there and waited impatiently. When she reappeared, Fireblaze dropped a mouse at his feet and then rolled over on the ground. When she wasn't looking, he rolled his eyes.

"Thanks," he said, bending down to gulp the mouse in a single, loud crunch! "No need for any other snacks. I'm not that hungry," he told her in case the Theta was thinking about doing this repeatedly. His other pack mates (namely Lasher, he knew) were keeping his pantry well stocked.

They began moving again and Peregrine found the silence uncomfortable, since he didn't know Fireblaze very well. Deciding to change that, he asked, "So, what brings you out here so early?" in his most conversational tone, which sounded forced to his sensitive ears.

Fireblaze cocked her head at his question. "I always come out before the sun rises. I tend to catch prey, so I can help fill the caches." Fireblaze hopped over a tree stump. "You know, just to be helpful to the pack."

Gazing out, Fireblaze yet again wondered what he thought of her. Did he think she was good for the pack? A horrible packmate? "Peregrine, what do you think of me? I know you used to dislike me, I cold see it in your eyes. But now I can't.

"I just really want to know, because I think your a great Alpha, and sometimes even a great friend.

Although he still didn't trust Fireblaze and her seemingly magical abilities, he replied, "Well, I appreciate that." Perhaps he was simply jealous that she was so damn successful, whereas he was apparently subjected to the typical statistic of failing as often as he succeeded.

Her straightforward question caught him by surprise. "'Used to'? Fireblaze, we've met a total of twice. I've barely had time to formulate an opinion of you. It takes a great deal of time to earn my respect and friendship. Ask anyone here; they'll tell you." The Alpha paused, then added, "If I disliked you, you wouldn't be here, believe me."

Her comment about his qualities as Alpha and friend threw him for a loop, as just as he barely knew her, she scarcely knew him. They certainly weren't friends yet, so he didn't know what to say. He opted to say nothing at all.

"Oops, I forget stuff like that if it happened recently and for a while," Fireblaze chuckled, then abruptly stopped. "Ok, good. I was worried you were going to kick me out. Kidding."

Working her way ahead of Peregrine with her submissive posture still inact, she saw a nice puddle, clean as they get out in the woods. Sniffing, she noticed a familiar scent. "Perry," she called worriedly.

"You might want to see this." Uh- oh, Fireblaze thought. This is bad, very very bad.

When Fireblaze moved ahead, Peregrine let her go without comment. When she called out to him, his ears pricked but he didn't increase his speed; he really couldn't. Managing a steady pace, he eventually caught up to her and gave her a questioning look and asked, "What is it?"

Fireblaze instantly started talking after he asked. "It is stuff from the humans. This has happened before. They infect all of the water supply, and any who drink it get sick."

Worry in her eyes, Fireblaze told him of how she had been with her father one day and he drank water from a normally good stream. "An hour later he was sick as well, a dog. I went to sniff the water, and it smelled exactly like this. This water must have come from the river.

"I'll go check." Dashing off again, she ran to the river bank and scented the water. It smelled the same as the puddle. Racing up to Perry, she gasped for breath while quickly telling him. "We must warn the camp," She finished before slumping to the ground.


(OOC: In another thread my character falls and twist her back ankle. I am doing it as a sprain, so it will heal quickly. Just wanted to let you know. :) Happy fourth of July)

"Humans?" he repeated incredulously, preparing to argue with her. Before he could, she dashed away. Peregrine hurled an impatient, "Gah!" into the air. She was the flakiest, flightiest wolf he'd ever known. He had half a mind to leave and then decided, Why the hell not? and began to walk.

Fireblaze caught up with him again, of course, considering his snail's pace. "Fireblaze," he said impatiently, "there are no humans anywhere in this place, otherwise we would've scented them from miles away. You're mistaken." He said this firmly, leaving no room for argument. Camp? he thought quizzically, though the contextual clues were easy enough to figure. He didn't comment.

"What you smell is probably natural bacteria or some other natural cause for the water to smell different. If it were otherwise, we would know about it. We've lived on this plateau for months and nobody's ever gotten sick from drinking the water. Then here you come along, killing rabbits and mice like a machine and insisting our water is poisoned... what is with you?"

Fireblaze was hurt by his comments, truly hurt. Backing away whining, she turned tail and fled away from him, back to camp where she could curl up I her den. Pausing for one moment, she said in a whimpery voice "I can believe what my father told me!"

When she was running, she howled. Running into the camp, she cried into her den. "He hates me," she whispered.

Her reaction took him by surprise. Looking wounded, she turned and fled without a word. Peregrine gaped after her. She was like a pup. Worse, he thought. Slowly, a frown of consternation took over his features. It seemed to him like perhaps Fireblaze didn't fit in here at the plateau. Perhaps she would be better served finding a home somewhere else.

Of course, he couldn't say that to her, especially because she was presumably crying in a corner somewhere. And while Peregrine didn't want to kick her out of his ranks, he might just tell her his thoughts and urge her to find someplace where she might be happier. He didn't think Fireblaze would thrive under his particular rule.

Contemplating all of this, the Alpha male shook his head, muttered under his breath, then shuffled back home to the rendezvous site.

Fireblaze stopped crying eventually, and she sat up facing the clearing. No matter what, she would stay here. Perry wouldn't kick her out. She was an emotional wolf, that was all, just emotional at this point.

She would voice this to Perry, and then consider what he said. She might have to leave. She might stay anyway, but she loved this pack, and she liked everybody in it, even if they were rude to her. Perry couldn't change that. Nobody could. She would go up to him when he arrived, and tell him that.