Wolf RPG

The scent of the white wolf, and the formations of her camps, had vanished from the taiga.

Tulimaq wound through them in the early morning as he made his way, finding the caches they had built empty and their scents depleted. He did not know where they had gone — which direction specifically — as there were more scents here than before; others which led towards the glacier. Perhaps they'd celebrated their hunting or had a send-off from their allies.

He moved on from the valley camp and descended towards the range of frozen earth and rising mountain, not so much awed by the glacier as he was appreciative of the sight of it. He came upon the borders of a claim where the scents were stronger, and knew his assumption was correct. It was here he paced, studying for a weakness.

Veteran had walked his patrol route so many times in exactly the same way, and he had found exactly the same thing (nothing) every single time. So when he finally laid eyes on a stranger, he almost couldn't believe that it was really happening. It was happening. He was going to get be a guardian for real!

The boy barked an alert; it was a call for backup for his nearby packmates, and of course a warning to the stranger that he had been spotted. Veteran approached at a swift trot. The man was technically on unclaimed land, but his behavior was suspicious. If he had a legitimate reason to be here, he would have called out. Veteran didn't like the idea of an unannounced stranger sniffing around at his border. 

"What were you looking for?" Veteran asked when he reached the stranger. The behavior that Veteran had witnessed was odd; he had been pacing and sniffing, and if he was trying to locate something he had misplaced.

The boy came out of nowhere. His scent was not as strong as some that Tulimaq had found, but if he breathed deeply he could find it.

He came running up alongside the territory's invisible edge with a question upon his lips, to which there was no answer. The fact this boy had to ask such a stupid thing gave Tulimaq more knowledge about the people here than one might think.

The boy was stupid. He was thin, too. His coat hung a touch ragged across his body. The warrior knew of the illness in the herd and thought quickly of how best to utilize what he had discovered.

He took a bolt step over the border and then another, as if he owned the place, and otherwise ignored the child.

Veteran was used to being regarded warmly at the border, when he greeted Duskfire Glacier's allies and potential recruits. This man, on the other paw, ignored him entirely, which was a very new experience. 

"H.. hey!" Veteran shouted, when the man pushed past the clearly marked border. The boy's barking voice echoed off off the looming glacier. "Stop! You're trespassing!" Belatedly, his protective instincts kicked into gear, and his ruff rose.

It was a test; as with everything Tulimaq did, he was seeking the weaknesses present. The boy did not meet him with hostility in the beginning but now chased after him and lagged behind.

Tulimaq turned to face the boy and saw the way he bristled, yet still did not attack. The warrior postured in forthright way: lifting his head proudly along with his tail, staring the boy down.

Yeah, I am, and what're you gonna do about it? Said Tulimaq's body, an open invitation for a brawl. The young wolf looked to be in decent health and was built rugged, perhaps destined for many events such as this.

Veteran reached out to grab at the man's ankles, much as a pup might nip at an adult in play. However, the trespasser turned before he could make contact, and Veteran pulled back quickly. Squared up, they regarded one another for a brief moment, neither of them backing down. 

This face-to-face orientation brought to mind Veteran's training, and he finally slid into a guarded stance. Moving quickly, he feigned a direct charge for the man's throat and then dodged left at the last instance, testing the stranger's speed and seeing if he could get the man to reveal a weakness.

The boy looked nervous for a moment, then charged. His movement was well telegraphed at first and then, as he bowed around Tulimaq in a dodge, the man reacted swiftly to counter, throwing his weight in to the boy.

It wasn't the best of reactions; the boy's teeth sliced in to Tulimaq's neck just before his shoulder and as his dark figure rebounded away, the warrior felt the welt growing, and thought he smelled blood.
In that moment of collision he had been forced to cough and sputter, which led to a grimace of teeth. Rather than take the advantage that had been shown to him, Tulimaq chose to retreat.

He had tested the boy enough. The borders, too. None had come but the single wolf — and besides, there would be more opportunity to test these glacier wolves.

Tulimaq thus launched himself across the invisible line again and made a show of his departure, leaving a pinkish trail in the snow as he went, for he bled profusely from his newly earned wound.

Veteran had attacked with is own self-defense in mind first and foremost, and so he was probably as surprised as Tulimaq when his dodge-attack combo landed. The metallic tang of blood met Veteran's tongue as he pulled back, and the trespasser reacted with a pained coughing sound. 

Veteran had learned that the man was slower than him, and maybe a little overconfident. He would try to temper his own confidence-- not to mention his lust for more blood-- as they continued to square off. 

...Except they wouldn't continue. The man left in a dramatic flourish of fur, rippling muscle, and dripping blood. Veteran was too dumbfounded to even give chase. He simply stood in place, watching the trespasser retreat. ...Had he really just fought with a real, live bad guy and won? And no one was even around to see it?! Veteran looked over his shoulder, willing someone (anyone) to be there just so there would be another voice to corroborate his story.