Wolf RPG

There were others in Ursus, those who had not seen his sister's traitorous turn against him. Aventus had already discredited the opinions of his fellow packmates, having seen that none remained to support his hold on his rank—though none had intervened to support Avicus' hubris, either, which placated him a smidge—but @Auriel, @Arielle and @Solomon Bishop were fresh blood.

Blood that could potentially be swayed in favour of him, should she ever show her double-crossing mug upon Ursus soil once more.

While he searched across the valley for them, he spotted a young male black bear from afar, and gave it a wide berth, watching respectfully the way it rooted through unripe berries on a bush. It wasn't fear that drove Aventus to do so, but neither was he seized with the madness his father portrayed in the presence of bears. He knew the devastation they wrought. If his time came to be claimed by the bear spirit, it would not be due to him wandering too close to one in the spring, not even a male one.

But nonetheless, as a true acolyte of Ursus, he did stop to marvel at the coarse black fur and the sheer strength of it. Not a grizzly, not by any means, but nevertheless a marvelous creature. Aventus knew the bears being in the valley was a sign of prosperity to come, and gave thanks with a silent bow of his head.

She was as terrified of the giants as she was drawn to them; there was something about being in the presence of the large beasts that pulled at her. She wanted to see more of them—watch them and learn their behaviors. So she had been on the trail of one, careful to move slowly through the territory and keep constant watch around her. She was curious, but she wasn't so stupid as to put herself at risk of running directly into one—at least more at risk than she was just living here. 

But as she tracked, the breeze brought the familiar scent of pack. It was a packmate she had not met yet, and she was even more curious to find them than she had been to find the bear. 

She was lucky today, though; she found them both. The bear was far in the distance, foraging in the underbrush for food most likely. And the man sat closer to her, his head bowed to the beast. 

She softly trotted over to him, purposely not concealing her agile steps so as not to surprise him. She sat next to him, her gaze on the bear for a few moments before she focused it on him, careful not to meet his eyes. I'm Arielle, she offered quietly.

Aventus kept his crown low in the presence of the bear. The beast took no notice of him, as bears were wont to do, but that didn't mean he could be flagrant in his respect for them. From a distance, they appeared sluggish, lazy, and possibly unintelligent, but Aventus knew better. Not only had Merrick raised him in awe of them, but he had witnessed firsthand the devastation a bear could mete out, and had no intention of offending them enough to wind up on the wrong side of those colossal paws.

He curved one ear in the direction of his approaching packmate, but didn't otherwise acknowledge her until she offered her name. It was as much out of feeling awkward and out of place as it was that his attention was held by the bear. Her quiet voice drew his gaze away from the snacking bruin, and he found himself catching his breath silently at the wash of rusty crimson on the bridge of her muzzle and chest.

Momentarily, he thought it was blood, and loosed a slow exhale when he realized it was just her markings, stark against the charcoal-and-tan of her base coat. The wolves in Aventus' life were primarily dark-pelted and Arielle was no different, but those splashes of colour lit her up in a way not many others could boast. That, or perhaps Aventus was experiencing, for the first time, what it was to be a young boy in the company of a pretty girl.

He wouldn't know the difference.

Aves, he replied, tipping his head slightly to regard her with a disarming tilt of his head. Have you met a bear before today? Unlike Merrick, Aventus wasn't insane, at least not in the unhinged fashion of his sire; he would not invite her to meet it face-to-face, but merely wondered if this was her first encounter.

Aves, she repeated, her voice still soft. She matched the name with his dark face and committed it to memory. 

His question had her nodding a little. Merrick showed me one not very long ago. He explained how the pack lives here because the bears let us and only if we respect them. Her firelight eyes moved from the shadow to the creature. She watched him a few moments before adding: He said we needed to be holy, but— She frowned and looked back to Aves, careful not to meet his gaze. How do you know if you're holy? she asked. Her frown softened and her expression turned curious. She not only had no desire to be eaten by one of these beasts, but she also wanted to do what was expected of her here, especially if they were going to teach her how to be a healer. She hadn't thought much about her purpose before coming here, but now that Merrick had planted the seed in her mind, she wanted desperately to learn and to be of service to the pack that took her in when she had no one else.

He listened silently and politely while Arielle recounted her first time in the presence of a bear, silver eyes lingering unabashed on the brighter yellow of her own, which sought to avoid his. That was as it should be, he thought, and wished his sister had observed her place as well as this one did. Perhaps then the rift could have been mended and they could have stood side by side again, instead of painting Ursus red with one another's blood.

Yet Aventus didn't feel much like a leader at the moment, and didn't wish to lord the fact over Arielle, so he looked away after a time, trailing his gaze back to the bruin. It was now stretching a foreleg into the air over its head and smacking its droopy lips. You don't, he answered. Only the bear knows. The most we can do is appeal to the spirit and pray it is enough.

He doubted that was the answer Merrick would give, or whether Merrick would approve of it, but it was what Aventus believed. Even the most devout of Ursus wasn't guaranteed to keep the bear's favour. Once, a wolf of Ursus left in a manner not ordained by the spirit, and earned the bear's wrath. They were marked by the bear's claws, but their life was spared, for they were beloved by the Bruin-witch.

It was easier to talk about her, easier to stomach his churning turmoil, by refusing to speak her name. The spirit required blood for the mercy shown, and took it from Ursus' physician, Evien. He licked his dry lips and said, Evien was a good wolf. He was loyal to Ursus. He saved my life once. The bear took him all the same, a life to pay for the life spared.

You see, he concluded, feeling strangely self-conscious of how much he'd spoken in the last couple minutes and shuffling in place as though to shake it off, we must do what is best for Ursus, but always respect the bear in doing so, lest we draw their ire. Shed blood in the name of Ursus and for the glory of the valley, and not for personal gain. Make way for their might, and never cross them. Protect them when the snows come and they slumber.

That was what he fervently believed. If you are loyal to Ursus and the bears, you need not fear.

She felt his gaze on her; it was piercing, and she felt like he could see past her skull and into her mind. She kept her own eyes from meeting his still, and then the piercing stare was gone, focused on the bear once more. 

You don't, he told her. Only the bear knows. Merrick had answered another question in a similar way. She wondered if the bears already knew whether or not she was worthy. She didn't feel worthy and she wondered it was because she wasn't—she dashed the thought away; it would only weaken her focus to entertain such doubt. There was no room for that in her mind. Not now. 

Aves told her of one who strayed. She was marked but spared, committing another to death in her place. He told her more of what the bears expected of them, and Arielle saved the information in her mind.

I'm not afraid, she told him softly. Her tone was neither indignant nor angry. She shared her truth calmly because she really wasn't afraid. Fear had not been what urged her to figure out how to be holy; it didn't push her to prove herself or make herself useful. She simply wanted to belong here. Arielle wanted to be worthy, and she had somehow gotten it in her head that to be so was within her control; Aves had made it clear it was quite the opposite. She could do everything right and still end up like this Evien. But that didn't diminish her determination even a little. If anything, she felt more compelled to prove herself, even knowing now that she could die anyway. I just want to be worthy, she admitted, unsure why she offered up this information to him. It was as though the words came out on their own.

Hadn't Evien been loyal to Ursus and the bear?

In a time before Aventus' life began, Evien was skeptical, and that could be what damned him. But for as long as Aventus had known the physician, the man was loyal. Why did the bears take Evien in exchange for Avicus, then, and not someone less devout? Because I told them to, he reminded himself, because father decreed it must be so. Still he believed that.

But Arielle, no, he would not sic the bears on Arielle. He knew that with a definitive certainty he could not put a finger on, but Aventus believed she would be great for Ursus. The boy sensed her determination and expected that she would do whatever it took for Ursus. Time would tell if his suspicion was correct.

You will be, he told her, and believed it fully. What do you bring to Ursus?

His affirmation settled in her heart; it diffused into the blood there and was pumped through her veins with every beat. He believed she would be worthy, and the way he said it made her feel that it was the truth. She smiled a little, her gaze falling from his chin to rest on her front paws a few moments. 

When he spoke again, she looked up to his chin once more. My willingness to learn, she told him. I want to be a healer—to help the pack when someone is sick or injured. She knew this truth deeper than any she had ever heard before. The claws of her mind sank into this wish and held on. Now she couldn't imagine doing anything else. She waited then, suddenly a little nervous about what he would think of her plan.

A healer! There was no good explanation for why Aventus imagined Arielle as a warrior, lithe and nimble alongside the males of the valley and his own ruthless dam, but that image of her crumbled in favour of her own aspiration. There had not been a healer in Ursus since Evien. Aventus knew only vaguely that Karst was training for the role, but he cared so little about the basalt intruder, he hadn't even noticed when the younger boy left with Avicus.

The bear would continue to snack for some time, so Aventus gathered his paws under him in preparation to move on. Have you been to Evien's medicine den? he wondered, deciding already that he would take her there if she had not. He knew it well, having spent quite some time there after Nyra's attack. More importantly, he knew it would suit her needs, and privately hoped she would find something like home in it.

Ursus needed a healer, and Arielle seemed like a good fit for the pack. It was perfect.

She stood a trotted forward, only a few steps behind Aves and so catching up to him just as he asked her about Evien's medicine den. Arielle shook her head. No, she told him. The way Evien was spoken of put even more pressure on her to be a healer for Ursus. She started to doubt her ability to learn this trade, but she quickly pushed the insecurity away; those feelings wouldn't help her survive. But I would like to see it, she added, interest lighting up her gaze that watched the path in front of them.

This Evien, she asked after a few moments. Was he your friend? If he was, she wondered how Aves felt about the bears taking him as payment for the life they were owed. She wondered if it was hard to be worthy in times like that.

Aventus led them away from the snacking black bear, which lifted its beady eyes to watch them go, and up toward the rocky edges of the valley where sheer walls rose and guarded them all from intrusion. No, he admitted when Arielle asked after Evien. Not really. He healed me when I was injured as a kid. No point mentioning how that happened. Admitting that one of their allies had slammed him into the ground felt strangely weak, and he absolutely didn't want to admit any weakness to anyone, least of all Arielle.

My father and he were good friends, he shared. He kept Evien's skull when he died. For remembrance, I think. Was that too personal to share? For Aventus, it was a simple fact of living with Ursus that the wolves here had unusual habits and hobbies. His mother's bone pile came to mind. There was a reason Evien's skull had not joined that pile, and he assumed it was because Merrick wished to remember the medic fondly, and not associated with a moldering pile of bones.

Ahead, he spotted the yawning cave mouth where Evien treated the sick and injured of Ursus, felt the ground transition to moss and then damp stone under his feet as he led Arielle into it. I spent some time here, he said, pricking his ears at the sound of his own voice echoing. Water trickled out of the cave through the entrance, but the interior was comprised of dry rock raised around a natural spring. Sunlight broke through a hole in the ceiling to glisten on the surface.

Evien stayed up there, said Aventus, pointing his muzzle toward the higher caverns where a second entrance opened. He doesn't need it anymore, so if you plan to follow in his paws, you can probably have it.