Hunger clenched his stomach as Penn Blackthorn trotted lightly across the snow swept plateau. Snow was drifting lightly down from an overcast sky, swirling around the tall, frosted grass he moved through. Oddly enough, he wasn't bothered by it, nor by the hunger. Odder still, he actually sort of liked the snow and the cold that chilled him. Penn didn't often find himself feeling so content or so peaceful. He was far more used to being irritable and restless. It was a teen thing probably. It was a Blackthorn thing definitely.
Not being the introspective sort, the young wolf simply accepted his current emotional state and carried on. He had left the Copse in hopes of finding a meal beyond the borders, but after a couple of unsuccessful hours, he had all but abandoned the effort. He was driven now more by curiosity than anything else. His parents had told him about the Plateau. Had things been different, he would've grown up here instead of in the Copse. The thought intrigued him, and so he continued meandering, seeking out the places that might've been his to see if he preferred them to the places he had gotten instead.
these things came in stages. playing the part of member was only one role of many; the shadow knew that it was time to move on. it had been some time since he'd seen the wolves of the hollow. after meeting the foreign girl in the mountains, he continued westward, eventually landing somewhere new.
there was a stranger off in the distance. the shadow, being the man that he was, thought to approach and introduce himself.
who shall i be?
hello, friend
, he called once close enough to be heard. a mock limp had befallen his hind leg, though the enthusiastic wag of his tail countered it.
am i intruding?
his voice was soft, welcoming; this version would be different from the last.
Penn had paused to run his nose across the frosted bark of a thin tree that appeared to have fallen long ago when he heard a voice behind him. He should've been alarmed, but he was merely curious at the interruption when he turned to spy the stranger. Penn hadn't met many wolves outside of his own pack, and those he had met usually turned out to be related to his massive family in one way or another. Which is all to say, he had no reason at all to be suspicious of him.
"No, not unless I'm intruding too," Penn answered with a quirk of his lips, "Far as I know, no one's lived here since Summer." He couldn't quite remember when the Redhawks had moved out. They'd been another sister pack he hadn't really known, but there'd been a legacy to it that his parents had brought him up to be quite familiar with.
the boy held back any alarm that he might have been feeling. in shadow's mind, this warranted a more casual demeanor; instead of observing from a distance, he moved a few steps closer and sat down on his haunches. that seems so long ago, don't you think?
it was difficult for him to discern between then and now, but it felt like something that his character might say.
his character. the shadow thought that the spirit might need a name. i'm benji
, he said, deciding that it fit quite nicely. who are you?
Penn frowned at the stranger's comment. Had he been in one of his regular moods, he would likely have said something snarky, rolled his eyes and stalked off. But he was being peaceful, so he merely said, "Totally," and let the conversation topic change.
"Penn Blackthorn," he answered, then he decided to brag a little, "My pack used to claim these lands. We grew too large for the space and ended up moving East. I thought I'd come check the old place out." Penn had nothing to do with that, of course. Still, he considered his family to be powerful, and that made him impressive as shit in his obviously humble opinion. "What's your story?" he asked, not wanting to come off as full of himself.
the lapse in conversation was okay, the shadow thought. it added a touch of.. organic-ness(?) to the conversation. sorry
, he laughed, tone bashful and sweet.
the boy didn't seem to suffer from a shortage of pride, he noted. which pack?
benji asked, confident that the answer would be fruitful.
Penn wasn't certain what the apology was for, so he went ahead and ignored it, just like the stranger ignored the question he'd asked. He hadn't really cared for the answer, but being disregarded caused a flicker of annoyance. But, he was being peaceful, so he swallowed it down--even though having to do that annoyed him as well. This peaceful thing sure was difficult to maintain.
"Redhawks," Penn answered, potentially misunderstanding the question, "We originally were from a Caldera on the other side of the mountains, but migrated after winning a war against our enemies to the East. We settled here for a while then split up into the Redhawks and Firebirds. I'm with the Firebirds now." Which irked him a bit. Not that he didn't like his family, but being in a pack dominated by Blackthorns and still called firebirds irked his inflated sense of pride.
i almost typed peen instead of penn
redhawks, the boy said. shadow logged the details of the briefing that followed.
wow. there must be a lot of you guys, huh?
he wondered if this family led the rest of the wilds in some unspoken hierarchy.
they could just be irresponsible, shadow thought. stifling the resulting giggle proved impossible.
shadow worried that penn might press further for a background. while he waited for a response, he began to peice together a potential story.
he often behaves like a peen so i totally support it lol
The stranger commented on the size of his family in a tone that Penn read as impressed. The boy smirked, pleased with the attention, and nodded.
"Yeah, there are a ton," he said, promptly forgetting his annoyance over his question being ignored as the spotlight caught him in its bright beam,
"The Blackthorn family goes back generations. I have a ton of siblings, and a ton of aunts and uncles and cousins and stuff. Our family is all over the place. All you gotta do to spot one of us is look for the black stripe."
Penn spun then, posing handsomely to show off the ribbon of black that emerged from the splash of white across his neck and trailed all the way down to the tip of his tail.
"If it's got a stripe, it's probably a Blackthorn," he proclaimed with a grin, his tail wagging as he righted himself again to face the guy, whose name he'd forgotten already.
the extent of the boy's pride seemed endless. intrigued by the show, shadow took a step forward to examine the blackthorn stripe. sounds of awe were mindlessly released as he listened to the boy brag.
that stripe would be something that he continued to look for. shadow silently cursed his monochrome pelage, wishing that he'd been given the correct genes to mimick this feature.
and you guys all live here?
he asked. it might be fun to impersonate a lost relative, he thought, but if the entire family was based in the wilds then his efforts would likely prove useless. it must be awesome to have such a huge family.
Penn shrugged at the next question. He was convinced that his family was so large, there was probably a Blackthorn in every pack across the country. That likely wasn't accurate, but he was a kid and kids just had big ideas like that. "A lot of us do, but not all," he said, "Like I said, our family is all over the place."
"It's pretty cool," he agreed with a nod. He didn't always get along with his siblings, but he did enjoy knowing a lot of wolves. He was often an arrogant little jerk, but he was a social one.
shadow nodded. an intermediate silence ensued. you see, neither shadow nor his writer knew how to continue this conversation. that was okay because it'd gone on for fairly long, anyway.
there were still several questions swarming his mind. it would be stupid to try his luck so early in their relationship, so instead of continuing his interrogation, shadow decided to say his goodbyes.
can i come see your pack sometime?
he asked, tail wagging excitedly behind him. i mean, if that's okay.
the prospect of joining was just as, if not more attractive than a tour, though he knew his potential membership wouldn't last for long.
Seeing as this writer totally had the same problem last night, that's super cool. Penn quirked a brow at what's-his-face's request, but gave another shrug. "Yeah, that's cool," he answered. It really didn't make much of a difference to him, though it would have maybe if he'd realized that it was quite an accomplish to attract new, capable blood to his pack's ranks. Enough of an accomplishment that he would've been praised for it, and goodness did this boy love his praise.
"It's to the East of here," he explained with a gesture of his muzzle, "Like, straight East. You'll pass the Southern edge of a small wood and then it's a quick hop over a little river and you're there."
the directions sounded simple enough. like everything else, shadow logged these details carefully. it would be a while before he returned to these flatlands, but when he did, his destination was clear.
shadow gave another smile. i'll be there! eventually, i mean.
he turned on his heels and began making his exit. westward, he thought; there was still much to be seen.
"See ya round," Penn called as the guy took his leave. He wondered for a moment what he'd said his name was, but then shrugged it off. He'd just make sure to be around when someone else asked him his name once he got to the Copse. For now, he had more of the Plateau to explore. He set off to do just that, his mind once again relaxing into the peace the quiet, snowy landscape had to offer him.