Wolf RPG

With the changes made slowly coming and settling into place, there were pieces and parts yet left to be sorted. Among them happened to be one particular canine who held a status within the Spine. Mordecai had been working to suss out the assassin for a bit, but had always inevitably ended up sidetracked. Kaname had struck him as of late to be elusive, as though he had said his piece with Ptarmigan, and then with Mordecai himself, and holed away somewhere more to his liking. But he lingered in the Spine still, his scent found sparsely in some places and overwhelmingly in others.

Many times, Mordecai found he was not surprised that it was accompanied by Cara's as well. The two were rather inseparable, but this time he hoped to find the dark-haired beta alone. Through a thick grove of tangled wood on the northern edges of their territory, he felt he had found the freshest of scents. It was here that the overgrowth of Neverwinter Forest merged in with the steepled conifers leading down into the higher climes of the Spine that he anticipated finding Kaname… or at the very least being found by him. Mordecai was a steadfast tracker, but Kaname had long prided himself on being more stealthy. It could have been easier for the fledgling alpha to simply call for him, but it was more of an exercise in fun and skill to seek him out otherwise.

He did not appreciate the fact that he was being followed. Not at all. Especially not by his packmate, his alpha, to be more precise. The assassin was too experienced to not know that Mordecai was tracking him, but was perplexed as to why. What did he want from him now?

The Beta wandered for a bit, doubling back, covering his scent, giving false trails. He was not in desperate need to evade his alpha, but he led him for a while until he reached the north end of their lands, near Neverwinter. The assassin hopped on a stone, awaiting his superior's arrival. He would be there soon.

Blissfully unaware that Kaname had long caught onto his pursuit, Mordecai had not noticed where the beta had doubled back. There were times when his scent seemed to linger, but it deemed of no consequence to the tawny Ostrega. He followed it out, swinging and weaving with the forest and terrain at his own leisure. Eventually, he assumed he would catch up with the recently quiet wolf. And eventually, it seemed as though he did. The canopy began to thin one last time before the full start of the overgrown forest, and it was along the end of their varied border that he spied Kaname perched on a stone like a quiet gargoyle. Or maybe he was lying in wait, but that thought did not cross his mind like it could have.

Drawing his gaze up to the dark-haired beta, Mordecai offered him a bemused smile. “There you are,” he said, “I wondered if I'd find you out here.” But Mordecai was not aware of the annoyance he had caused by his actions either, leaving his dominant stance easy. Of the trio that remained from Silvertip, he felt he would receive less resistance coming from Kaname. They had their differences, yes, but Mordecai had never felt he had wronged him in the way Cara felt wronged. “I haven't seen much of you. How have you been?” And for Mordecai, it was far easier to let the past be in the past, in light of how they had acted beneath different structure and rule.

Finally, his new leader had found him, giving him a smile in response. Kaname did not smile back, but watched him with calm, cold (not yet icy) eyes. "I've been alright, I suppose." The assassin said, a tired tone rising in his voice. It was not a façade, he was tired. He was exhausted from searching for his Frost Queen, drained from evading Mordecai, wearied from hunting and patrolling. He really needed a nap. "What about you? How are you doing with your alpha duties?" He kept the conversation civil, for he had no desire to delve into anything with the Ostrega.

When he spoke, his tiredness did not go unnoticed by Mordecai. This he found interesting, especially in light of the fact that they had not seen one another. Yet he did not jump to the conclusion that he had been avoided. He should have considered it, but for whatever naivety lingered in him had not voiced it. But their weariness was a mutual thing, yet one that Mordecai had slowly grown used to. Even before his decided ascension, he had long tired himself by trying to provide. Trying to deal with what had become of their home. In a way, trying to coax Ptarmigan into being less of what she had been had been tiring in itself, and those moments had never come to light in any way, shape, or form.

“Same as always, I suppose. Wondering when we'll wake with snow on the ground,” he said, a little flatly. Mordecai was not looking forward to the advent of winter. It was a trial that had never been apart of his favorite things. But survival had never been an easy thing. “And how about you tell me how you think I'm doing? As little as I've seen you, I can only imagine you keep yourself on the go quite a bit. Outside opinion never hurt,” though truthfully, it really could have. But it was his way of trying to suss out how Kaname was feeling. Not just about Mordecai himself, but rather how things were doing as a whole.

Snow. It was fast approaching, indeed, winter, the bane of all life. It was indeed getting closer, and so the nights have been longer and colder. He barely minded it, his fur was thick, and he had more things to focus on. Like the pack's survival. "There have been much more recruitments and the pack numbers have grown. And because of that, the hunts have been more successful and the caches are numerous and full. I'd say you've done a pretty good job." He was truly impressed with Mordecai's performance so far, after all the leaders they had gone through, he thought that Mordecai had to be ranked up on the list with Jinx.

"Despite all that you have done right, there is one thing I do not like." His eyes became much more icy as he summoned up the annoyance he had inside. "Why did no one tell me that Cara was no longer alpha?"

Somehow he felt he should have known that this was the way their conversation was going to go. Yet it should have been something he expected, because of the closeness between his beta and their former alpha female. Mordecai could almost feel the temperature plummet as Kaname punctuated his words with a hint of glacial ice; the very temperment of his feelings towards the matter broke through his stony expression swiftly. Mordecai met that gaze with a tempered one of his own, hoping his unwillingness to be bent into apology would be enough to keep the anger Kaname felt right there. He did not, and would not, allow it to persist for long beyond their meeting.

“She made that decision herself,” Mordecai explained, sighing. “Believe me, it came as a surprise to me. Though I do realize I was not among her supporters recently.” But deeper than that, he was surprised she hadn't said anything to Kaname about it. For as close as they were and for what she wanted, Mordecai had made the logical assumption that they were involved, or were about to be in the coming weeks. Perhaps they had been for even longer than that, just in the sense that there were not words out there to describe the camaraderie they had. It was obvious to him that they were something, however.

“She conceded her title to me. I am surprised that she did not confer with you, though, and honestly it happened quickly enough that there would have not been time to summon you. Have you spoken with her since?” He imagined so, if only for the fact that they had not gone announcing it from the hilltops that she had decided to take her interests in other directions. For that, he wasn't about to spill the beans on the matter, on the off chance that it was not Kaname she had chosen as a potential suitor. Her business was her own and in spite of Mordecai's evident dislike of her, he respected her enough not to go sharing it around.

He was a tumult of emotions now. The annoyance he felt towards Mordecai still lingered, but another rising frustration came when Mordecai declared that it was Cara's choice and no one else's. But why? And why didn't she tell him? Why did she disappear for all that time?

"Only a while ago. That's when she told me she was demoted." He hissed, the cold breath making his teeth tingle. The assassin had no large qualms against Cara, he was as loyal as a dog when it came to her, but he was still aggravated. "Did she tell you why?"

Sensing that some of that anger, or lack thereof, had diverted itself, Mordecai felt himself ease mentally. Not a whole lot, but enough that he found himself momentarily consumed by the lack of talk between what had been the three of them. It should not have been, but so far that was very much the way that things had gone. Mordecai made a mental note to change that, at least between himself and Kaname. Many things now fell outside of the purview that Cara had been privy to.

“Just that she wanted to pursue other endeavours as they came about,” he said, realizing that it was a vague statement at best. One that he sought to rectify immediately. “I'm not sure I'm the one who should tell you though, if she hasn't divulged that kind of information to others. Did she not go into detail with you?” It seemed redundant to ask that, to press for whatever it was that she had told Kaname. But if she hadn't wanted him to do what her intentions were, what did that mean? Was she ashamed of her decisions?

Perhaps she had blindsided them all and played an elaborate ruse.

It was his fault he knew nothing, now that he thought back to it. He did not press her, since he was afraid that it would hurt her somehow. But he should have. He really should have asked. "She said nothing to me, Mordecai. I'll ask her later." He huffed, eyes distant and dark for a moment before regaining his focus on the conversation and the man in front of him."Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

So it seemed that she had moved to keep Kaname out of the loop as well. Mordecai was left wondering what that meant for them, and perhaps wondered if she had no respect for Kaname as well. Though not necessarily a supporter of their collaborations together in the past, he had hoped that Kaname would have at least been given the explanation from her. His face ceased momentarily with a frown at the way the beta huffed, the evidence of his turmoil crystal clear. But it was a topic that Mordecai left alone for the time being, in favor of the next one he wished he didn't have to be certain of.

“There is another matter I want to discuss with you, yes,” he said, searching momentarily for the words he needed. “I need to know that you're on the same page as I am. That you can do this job with me in light of recent events.” Another pause, but brief. He didn't want to be firm, he didn't want to do this. But it had to be done, didn't it? “I haven't seen much of you lately and I want to make a change to that. I need you to keep me informed as much as I need to keep you informed. Not on everything, but things pertaining to this pack, like the travelers and dispersers we've picked up.” He thought of Sidewinder momentarily, but it lapsed and left him. Mordecai wanted to trust Kaname's judgement, but he did not want to be left unaware of who or what was being taken in.

“And if you can't do those things, if this will be a problem, then I will find someone who will.” How he managed to keep an even tone was beyond him. It felt like he was about to jab another hot poker in somewhere it shouldn't have been and maybe that was true. Maybe it wasn't. But given the turmoil that had plagued them for weeks following Jinx's death, he had to be sure. Certainty was not a thing that Mordecai often had a grasp of when it came to some matters, but this he knew without fault was something necessary to their cooperation.

He was offered, no, given, a task by Mordecai: to be more active. It was true that he had not been communicating with the other wolves of the pack, but that was because he was just worried about Cara, and when he did work, he just hunted in the shadows and quietly dropped off prey into the caches. Not really Beta material.

Kaname did not react to the subtle threat, as he knew what the consequences were if he did not keep up to standards. He would work harder to prove that he was the Beta, and do what Mordecai told him to, because he was the alpha, the King, he guessed, though he doubted the Ostrega would want to be called that. "There will be no need to find someone else. I can manage it, Mordecai."

Kaname answered him concisely and perhaps surprisingly with some note of deference. That had been what he was looking for all along, that little acceptance that he was in fact in charge. That he had taken the responsibility of getting them through whatever came their way. It was self-empowering to some degree, but most it was a relief to Mordecai, who had long wondered if Kaname had conspired otherwise. Maybe it was poor taste to wonder such a thing about a wolf he had closely hunted with or otherwise spoken to. But the leftover tension from the weeks of turmoil within the Spine had lingered like an oily residue, and one that Mordecai had been working tediously at to clean.

Nodding his head, he offered his beta a genuine smile. “We've all certainly been through a lot, haven't we? I know I will need your support as much as the others.” And it was true, he felt it as such. For all their rocky beginnings, it seemed as though Kaname had become more calm. Whether he was less plagued or not plagued at all by the things that he heard, there was something profoundly different about him now. Hopefully by prompting him to be out there more, in a sense, the male duo would keep any budding issues and turmoil to a minimum.

“I think we should rally the others soon,” he went on to say after a pause, giving a wayward glance back towards the depths of the Spine. “What do you think?” Mordecai had been intending to do it on his own anyway, but thought that now, Kaname's opinion certainly pertained to it as well. But the time had come and had been waiting for some time now, and the urge to do so had burned just as long for Mordecai. It would bring them together and serve as some testament to those around them that they were certainly still there, still thriving, and undeterred in their efforts. But most of all, Mordecai hoped it would inspire them all for the better.

Mordecai smiled at him, telling him that his support was needed in the coming days. It was true, especially at the brink of the harshest season of the year. And even moreso after the turbulent times they had after Jinx's death. His support was desperately needed. Kaname only nodded in response, but he was certain he would help Mordecai as best as he could.

"Sounds like a good plan." Kaname agreed to Mordecai's idea. "With winter close, we need to bring everyone together, and get to know each other. Even now, I don't know what most of the others even look like." he snorted, though it was more his fault than anyone else's. "What should we talk to them about?"

“There's a few things that come to mind,” he said, canting his head a touch in thought. “Obviously getting them all acquainted face to face in front of us is one of them. We do have a couple of outliers in our pack, and I'd like them to feel more welcome.” Though in honesty, he didn't know if it would really help. Sidewinder had his thoughts set elsewhere and Lucius… Mordecai hadn't entirely decided about him. He was young and headstrong, but also acted largely solo.

But then there were the matters of other things. “It probably wouldn't hurt us to encourage them to work at their skills as well. I know some are keeping tabs on the borders with us, some are hunting mostly, but we need healers as well. Scouts too, with our neighbors nearby.” He had liked Meldresi, but also wondered how well he could trust her, having split from the Spine. “Have you heard of the pack that settled to our northeast? They call themselves Redhawk Caldera,” and beyond that, he honestly couldn't remember who had told him. Cara, perhaps. That seemed the most likely.

"You should definitely ask who wants to do what trade and we could set up some quests or tasks to get them towards the goal. Once we get a clue on who wants to do what, it will be easier to manage." He could help train some gamekeepers if needed, or maybe spar with some of the others for warrior or warden."I am nearly done with my gamekeeper trade, and I'm going for warrior and outrider as well. I can take some outrider jobs." He couldn't do much for healing though, but perhaps he could go out and recruit some healers, as per his duty as an outrider, instead to make up for it. Two birds with one stone.

"Redhawk Caldrea? Yeah, I've heard of them. I met a few of them before." He thought back to the hunting expidiotn he had recently, and how that wolf's scent matched with the wolf he had interrogated at their borders. "I do not think they will give us much trouble, from what I know. Unless something else happened...."

Kaname provided insight readily. It was something that Mordecai found he appreciated, perhaps even something he had been lacking. When it came to leadership, he found he was less likely to reach out and simply ask for the aid as though in doing so it would set up some perceived weakness. It was a feeling he was trying to desperately shake, but one that had for the most part not seemed noticeable. To avoid that feeling he instead focused in on what Kaname said he was striving for, and the way he spoke of it made it seem more like personal goals than anything. And that was the way that Mordecai took it, too. Perhaps Kaname did not think himself a hunter or a warrior.

“If something's happened between us and them, it would be news to me. I haven't met any wolves who claim to be from there yet,” he mentioned, wondering if there was really anything that would transpire between the two packs. “As much as I would like to venture out that way, duty calls and all.” It was there that he allowed just the slightest slip in his own ruse; Mordecai missed the ability to roam freely. “But some scouting parties might be worth the trouble, to the Caldera and over towards Meldresi's pack. I think it may be in our best interests to see how they fare in comparison to us.”

"I think we should go to Meldresi first, see how many followers she has. We don't know much about them." He wondered what the dark female was up to in that dark forest. "Hell, we don't even know the name of the pack." The assassin was curious as to the name of the pack was, or who dared to follow Meldresi and live in there.

Truth be told, Mordecai could not have said he was overly interested in what Meldresi had named her pack. But it did bother him that his former hunting companion had left them abruptly to found her own claim. He thought — at least he wanted to — better of her than to take advantage of the confusion left in Ptarmigan's wake to take from them to strike her own claim, but it seemed the opposite. And their closer promixity to them left him wondering of many things, things that he found he did not care to consider.

"It couldn't hurt," he said, agreeing fully with the dark-haired beta's words. Sitri had been healed by them and in spite of his disdain for the scarred canine in at that moment, Mordecai felt slightly grateful. "We'll have to make note of it when we rally the others. I don't want to be causing trouble with them until then." With that said, he allowed a further discussion to occur between them before deciding to leave Kaname to his own devices. There would not be much time left to waste either, as Mordecai knew they would have to come and rally the others before too long.

But until then, he had to gather his own thoughts.