Wolf RPG

Dante paced the ground a ways into the woods, head whirling after the meeting that had just taken place. This wasn't good, not at all. He knew his own thoughts, and from the faces of those around him, most seemed a like mind. Fox's appointment to Beta had not sat well with the pack.

He wouldn't worry, but such a swift and unappreciated change in the leadership of the pack was sure to cause turmoil. The Plateau was stronger than ever, a unit, and Dante meant to see it stay that way. This meant that he needed to speak to Peregrine, and now. Perhaps they could think of a way to make this work, or he could make the Alpha see how the rest of them felt about it. It may help him to better communicate with the pack the nature of his decision. Because Dante knew what it looked like... Fox's elevation seemed purely based on her relationship with Peregrine.

Making up his mind but dreading the conversation that was sure to follow, the Gamma raised his head and howled for Peregrine, hoping the Alpha wasn't busy and would come. He would need to choose his words carefully to make it clear that he was in no way challenging Peregrine's position or even Fox's. He just didn't want to see this tear the Plateau apart in any way.

Peregrine knew the calls would come. Dante's voice rose into the air first. Clearing his throat, the Alpha male tipped his head skyward and replied, "I'll be right there!" He then made his way toward his Gamma, all the while bracing himself to defend his decisions while still hearing out one of his most respected members. It would be a fine balancing act.

"Hello, Dante," the Alpha male purled when he reached his pack mate's position. He said nothing but gave Dante a look that invited him to speak.

Peregrine responded with surprising speed, possibly prepared for such an event. It really made sense that individuals would have concerns after the news he had delivered. As he approached Dante could tell that he was open to conversation, but still he hesitated. Questioning orders wasn't a strong suit of his.

"Hey Peregrine," he responded, posture relaxed but definitely submissive. He didn't want any misunderstandings here. "You might have an idea of why I wanted to talk, but for clarity's sake... I'm trying to understand. What was your reasoning in choosing Fox as Beta?" There were so many other choices he could have made... Kisu, who had been around forever. He understood not choosing Hawkeye, the leads would have to work together for the pack to thrive. But even Lasher would have been a better choice, for the male was known here. "It just seems rather quick. I'm not questioning the decision, and will stand by it one hundred percent, but I hoped maybe you could explain it? I don't think I was the only one with doubts." He smiled sheepishly at the Alpha, hoping he wouldn't take offense to anything that was being said. The last thing he wanted to do was get on Peregrine's bad side. He felt like he had a pretty good friend in the Alpha and would be massively upset if he screwed that up.

Peregrine answered Dante's first question with a brief anecdote: "When I came to the plateau, Hawkeye was the Alpha female and when she took me as her mate—just a few weeks after I arrived—I became the Alpha male simultaneously. Isn't that the law of the wolf most of the time: the Alpha's mate becomes his partner in rank?" His head cocked. "But we already have a wonderful Alpha female, so I gave Fox the Beta female rank instead." He paused, then added, "I have other reasons as well. Fox has acquired three trades in addition to her experience ruling the creek. Also, we only had the one female leadership rank open and there were no other immediately eligible candidates," he finished, feeling as if he'd made a strong case.

The Alpha male nodded his swarthy head in response to Dante's remark. "I'm sure you are not the only one who's questioning me right now. I'm happy you came to me and asked, rather than just decide I'm some kind of hasty moron or something." He smiled at the Gamma. "Do you have other questions?" he prodded gently, wondering if most of his wolves would feel more strongly about Fox's rank or the Alpha male's sudden breaking of not one but two natural laws as far as mates went. "Feel free to ask me anything, friend."

Dante nodded as Peregrine explained. It did make sense, especially if Peregrine stuck by the tradition that held to a female and male each within the higher ranks. Growing up he had not known such a thing... Captains were chosen based on ability rather than gender and if it so happened all were female, or all were male, then that was how it worked. While he understood the merits of having both genders in the leadership, he wasn't sure that was how he would have done things.

Then again, he wasn't Alpha. Good thing, too. He'd hate to be in Peregrine's position right now, laying out those realizations and hoping those that followed you could deal with them. "I understand and, if I hear anyone else with doubts, I will try to explain as well." He shook his head. "I don't know her, but I know you, and if you believe in her qualifications, then that is good enough for me." It was a big thing for him, though. True, Peregrine's word was law, but now Fox's was as well. He had been extremely cautious in his choice of pack because of the leadership, his deciding factor for joining here being that he had met and respected Peregrine. Being required to answer to someone who he knew very little about made him nervous. He supposed he'd get over it in time, though. Sometimes he wondered if leaders forgot just how jarring changes like those could be to the ones under them.

Dropping it at that, he resolved to keep an eye on his packmates. He didn't want to lose any because communication wasn't happening. If he could ease their doubts in any way he would try. "No other questions. I just wanted to tell you though, congratulations. Fox is gorgeous and Lasher is quite the catch as well. Seems you have a pretty great thing going. I'm glad."

When Dante offered to pass along the explanation to anyone else with doubts, the Alpha male was taken aback in an entirely pleasant way. "Thank-you, Dante. If you don't want to field those types of questions, though, definitely send them my way. I don't mind folks having their doubts and their questions, as long as they bring them to me respectfully, as you've done. I know a lot's happened recently and that it's been kind of crazy," he acknowledged.

Again, the Gamma took him by surprise by congratulating him on his romances. His pack mates' acceptance meant a lot to him, even though he didn't expect it. In fact, he still felt pangs of anxiety whenever he thought of that moment when he'd dropped the bomb on all of them. He was a very natural wolf in some ways, yet here he was, breaking some rather fundamental rules.

"I'm very lucky. Thank-you. It means a lot to me to hear you say that," Peregrine said to Dante, touching his nose to the other male's cheek. Although the chemistry he felt with the Gamma was not as strong as it was with Fox or Lasher, he still felt a certain fondness for him. Who says I have to stop at two? the little voice in his head said and he had to stifle the impish smile that threatened to curve his lips.

"How are things going with your trades?" the Alpha male asked after a moment, recollecting that Dante had shown some interest in both counseling and guarding.

Peregrine's open nature was just one more thing about him that made his leadership great. An Alpha who did not listen to his subordinates and set their fears at ease could only fail. You can't lead when none will follow you.

He was glad that his words made Peregrine happy. That meeting could not have been easy for him. His taking of Fox did not surprise him, but his taking of Lasher did. Dante had always assumed, since Perry had children... but that had been somewhat naive of him. After all, shouldn't he know better than most that preference sometimes had nothing to do with gender? Personally, for him it was all about the relationship before. If the trust wasn't there initially then there was no way courtship would work. Perry and Lasher had apparently hit it off right away, for the other male had been a part of the pack for less time than Dante himself. He somewhat marveled that they could be as close as they seemed to be already. He envied those who could start relationships like that at times, but for the most part he was content with his own speed.

"Things are going well. Pretty uneventful. Not much need of Wardens with the borders are this quiet." He wasn't complaining, though. It would be far better if there were never need for protection. Alas, though, he expected the peace would only last so long. That was why he continued to watch regardless. The counselor trade was a bit trickier. Dante still wasn't positive he was qualified on that one, but if it was a way that he could help the pack, he was going to try for it. He hadn't decided on a third, but with the amount of hunting he had done during Junior's supposed demise, he wondered if Gameskeeper wasn't in his future. It was something he would need to think about. "I'm working on the others," he finished with, smiling apologetically that there wasn't more to tell.

Peregrine made a small noise at Dante's apt remark. "I s'pose that's true. If you like, I'm sure I can come up with some tasks for you. I..." He trailed off for a second, his brow furrowing. He'd been about to mention that Atticus, too, was an aspiring Warden. Yet that just reminded him that his brother was decidedly missing in action. Recovering, he finished by saying, "We definitely have need of Wardens, as peaceful as things are now. I feel like some of the pups might be interested in apprenticing in the trade, so maybe you can teach them?"

A wind suddenly kicked up, shaking the leaves overhead. Peregrine glanced upward and saw that the sky was looking broody, the telltale darkling before a summer storm. "Looks like we're in for some more storms tonight," he observed before his blue-green gazed dropped back to the Gamma's face. "Speaking of storms... I was—and still kind of am, actually—expecting more of one about my unorthodox love life." Although Dante had given his blessing verbatim just a moment ago, Peregrine pressed, "So you don't think it's incredibly strange?"

Dante thought back to his patrol with Pura, how great it had felt to just share the company of the younger element of the pack and hear at least some of their thoughts (however little they talked). He nodded emphatically. "I can definitely do that. It'd be a pleasure." Perhaps he could teach them some defensive fighting. It really was a completely different style.

The sudden gust of wind felt great on Dante's thick pelt but he knew what it heralded as well as Peregrine. Agreed, he wondered if Peregrine was dismissing him... but no, he continued. It seemed he was seeking to know more detail about why Dante was not affronted by his personal choices. Honestly the Gamma had little patience with anyone who dictated where another placed their affections, but he figured an explanation of why that was might be better suited for this moment. It might help Peregrine know that, without a doubt, it did not matter to his Gamma where he stuck it, so to speak.

"I don't, hard as that may be for you to believe." He shrugged. "Where I come from, the heritage that I have, we are much freer in love. Men may mate men, women may mate women, and while polygamy is less common, I do not find it such a large leap. It is all about compatibility. Even my father respected the old ways in this." There had been a few couples in his birth pack who had held this lifestyle, though he himself would have been expected to have a relationship that could result in children. "I find it more odd that you found two others between whom no jealousy resides." There was obvious admiration in his look now. "The level of trust is astounding. You are all very lucky. Male, female... I understand. I know where you and Lasher are coming from. While I may be more reserved about it, it matters not to me either. All that is important is the relationship." It wasn't something he normally talked about, simply because it never came up in conversation, but he wanted Peregrine to know that this wasn't so odd. He might find more understanding than he thought.

Peregrine tried to always listen attentively when someone was speaking to him, though his attention was particularly sharp now as Dante answered the Alpha's burning question. He found himself nodding and making nonverbal noises, though he didn't interrupt, letting the Gamma finish his thought before speaking in turn.

"I know, I think I found a unicorn... or two," he quipped. "Lasher is not the jealous type. I used to be... I'm actually not sure what happened. I don't think Fox feels threatened because Lasher's a man. Plus, it'll work out really well for her if she also decides to be with Lasher, as she loves attention." He smirked affectionately. "But they are not actually bonded the way I am to each of them individually. I do hope it happens, though." His smile became a bit crooked at the thought of Lasher and Fox together. It didn't bother him at all. Actually, it kind of made him hot and bothered...

Clearing his throat, Peregrine said, "Thanks for the in-depth feedback. Blue Willow was also very accepting but she's always been the sweetest wolf I know. Knowing there's wolves like you and her in the ranks will help me cope with the knowledge that there must be others that feel very differently... though anyone that disagrees strongly is welcome to take me up on my offer to leave."

A thought suddenly occurred to him and he backpedaled slightly in the conversation. "You've been patrolling a lot lately, right? Have you happened to see Atticus on your rounds? Or do you know when the last time you scented him was, by any chance? I'm sure you noticed he wasn't at the meeting. In fact, I haven't seen him in days. I'm getting worried."

Dante nodded in agreement to Peregrine's mandate. While it was a harsh rule, flat out intolerance and judgement, especially of the Alpha, was not something the Plateau needed in it's ranks. If anyone had a real problem that could not be worked out through talking and gaining of understanding then it was probably for the best that they go. He had a hard time believing that too many of their current members would have such issues. They seemed a forward-thinking bunch and extremely tolerant of one another. At least so far.

"I think that would be a beautiful thing, to have three bonded as such. Hopefully all goes well." He grinned, then sobered at Peregrine's question. Thoughtfully he tried to remember the last time he had come across the Beta, then shook his head regretfully.

[b]"I have patrolled much these past few days but have not seen Atticus since Junior's rediscovery.[/b]" He felt a stab of concern at that. It was unusual for Peregrine's brother to be out of touch with him. Dante had assumed he was with the family enjoying Junior's return, or perhaps spending time with Blue Willow. If this was not the case then that was troubling indeed. "Perhaps we should send some out to search for him? I would be willing."

Dante's continued support of Peregrine's new relationships made the swarthy male's heart soften even more toward the Gamma. Watch out, he caught himself thinking, or you really might be next... The Alpha did not deign to collect lovers; even though he now considered himself polygamous, there was still a threshold. He had a feeling he would be thinking about the logistics of a quartet in the near future, if only for fun.

Such whimsical thoughts were banished as the two discussed the missing Atticus. "That is not what I was hoping to hear," he admitted, though the look he gave Dante assured the Gamma he did not fault him for this. "You are welcome to look, though I feel like I should sniff out an aspiring Outrider to do that. Or go myself." He paused ponderously, frowning.

After losing himself in thought a moment, Peregrine blinked back to the present and said, "If you want to ask me anything else, just call for me anytime. I think I'm going to get back to Fox and Lasher. Take care, Dante," the Alpha male said in closing, touching his nose to the Gamma's neck before withdrawing.