Wolf RPG

Fox was standing atop the peak that jutted out of the lake on top of the larger peak. It was like some kind of peakception. It was the highest point in their territory, and she liked to come up here from time to time and reflect on—who was she kidding? Fox liked to boast about how awesome she, Peregrine, and the rest of the caldera wolves were. They really had an awesome lot, and she knew that her own kids were only going to add to that. She just wished that she could have them now, rather than waiting for her stupid body to be ready. It was frustrating, even if Fox knew there was nothing she could do to change it. Perhaps that's what made it frustrating in the first place.

Feeling antsy, she rose to all fours, took in a deep breath, and howled. It was not meant for anybody in particular, nor was she insistent on company. It just felt good to be way up here and howl sometimes. It reminded her of her more wild side, and she wanted to get in touch with that a bit more, now that winter was closing in on them. In fact, wasn't it already winter? When did that sort of thing officially begin? Shrugging, Fox resumed her queenly observance of Redhawk Caldera, her tail waving happily behind her.

Idly, Fox went through the list of Redhawk members one by one and tried to think about them in a meaningful way. Peregrine was easy, and didn't give her much to think about aside from the fact that he made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Soon, he would be the father of her children, and she expected them to live out the rest of their days with one another. She had no plans to leave him, and while she occasionally wondered if things would fall apart like they had with Hawkeye, she did not think it was a possibility. They were so perfect for one another, even with their little flaws thrown in here and there.

Then there was Finley and Siv, both of whom Fox adored. They were the lighthearted girl friends she had always hoped and dreamed for when she was younger. They were always down for a good time, and they seemed to approve of Peregrine, which was an added bonus. They were funny, intelligent (in some regards—ahem, Finley), and all-around great friends.

Ashton, while a bit of a weirdo, wasn't really all that bad. He seemed insistent at times that she be treated with whatever voodoo he was practicing that day, but he was respectful enough to not push her into doing anything. He did have a bit of a problem with bringing home wounded strays, but Fox figured they were solid enough as a pack to take on the risk... at least for now. She'd be far less willing to do so once her children were around.

Elwood seemed nice enough, and Fox felt like she'd get to know him in time. The same went for Amon, old man that he was. There was FitzDutiful, who had followed them from Blacktail Deer Plateau, and had previously given her advice on how to deal with Haunter's death. She thought he could soar high here in the caldera if he put his mind to it, but she was just as happy having him around whenever she needed somebody to talk to.

The few others were newer recruits. Somnia, Theseus (whom she hadn't even met, yet), and Arina. Fox knew little of all three of them, aside from the fact that they were supposedly loyal to Redhawk Caldera. She intended to seek each of them out at some point or another, perhaps get to know them a bit more, seeing as they would eventually become part of the informal family they had going on here.

“Speak of the devil,” Fox whispered under her breath. Trotting up the mountain was none other than Somnia, and Fox folded her haunches so that she was sitting, allowing her fellow pack-mate all the time she needed to get up the mountain. Once she was within hearing distance, Fox barked a greeting and thumped her tail against the cold, hard earth.

It wasn't to hard to climb up the caldera's uneven slope. For Somnia's leg muscles that were accustomed to the fast-paced chase of the hunt, a hike up the topless mountain was nothing! As if to prove it to herself, she picked up the paste a smidgen, a bounce finding it's way into her step.

Pausing for a slight moment, Somnia looked up. Perched atop the caldera was a dainty russet figure. The sun embraced her, making her orange hues more vibrant. This was Somnia's target. The queen of the caldera, keeping a watchful eye over all her fertile lands. As she started moving again, it almost looked like the queen had looked down at her, but from this distance, Somnia couldn't tell if she was looking at her, or a tree a mile away.

A couple minutes later, the many-shades-of-gray wolf emerged from the treeline where the final ridge separated the slope from the top of the caldera. From there, her posture suddenly changed.

Somnia's pace slowed to a stop. Her tail dropped to almost sweep the ground. The grey ears flattened respectfully, and she made sure not to look the alpha in the eyes, regardless of how the grey orbs seemed to sparkle at times. The owner of said eyes barked a greeting, thumping her tail against the earth.

Somnia took this as the go-ahead. Her posture became a little better, although her tail still hung limp while her ears still laid against the back of her head. She closed the distance between them quickly on the uneven ground.

She took a seat besides Fox, lowering her head in respect. Her tail swished slowly across the frozen ground. It seemed to be only the russet and the grey. It wasn't a summoning after all. Unless all the others had been farther away.

With a small whine for a greeting, Somnia explained her case. "I heard the howl and even though it didn't sound like a pack summoning, I came because I figured I would regret it if it had been a summoning. She felt heat flood to her face as she realized a mistake. Some alphas found it disrespectful if you talked before they addressed you. Did the greeting bark count as being addressed? Somnia didn't think so.

Somnia made her way closer, and Fox waited patiently as the girl made her way up the side of the mount. When she reached the top, Fox cocked an ear forward to listen as her fellow comrade spoke. “Nothing official,” she assured Somnia with a pleasant smile. “How are you settling in?” Ashton had vouched for her, or so Fox's hazy memory recalled, and she wondered if there was anything going on between them. As in, ~romance.~ It was amusing to Fox how quickly other couples seemed to latch on to one another, from the few she had observed from afar. She and Peregrine had been a long, stretched-out affair that had gone on for months and eventually ended in Fox moving to the plateau.

In all reality, her heart hadn't been in it at first. She had not loved Peregrine when they had announced their bond, even though she most certainly loved him now. The beginning of their relationship had been built on Fox feeling as though she had owed him something for taking her in during her lowest point in life. She'd been vulnerable, heart-broken, and lost at that time. Fox was no longer any of those things, and she found purpose and a future with Peregrine. Considering how things could have gone, she thought they had not turned out all that bad.

What a busy little bee Somnia had been. Finding herself a den, meeting her fellow comrades, and packing the caches full of whatever food she could find. Those actions would go a long way to bumping her higher up the ladder, and Fox had no doubt that the girl would soar high if she remained with Redhawk Caldera. If anything, she had plenty of ambition, and that was more than could be said about a lot of the wolves Fox had met over time. She was glad to hear that Somnia already thought of Redhawk as home, and even more so that she seemed to catch on to the fact that their beginnings hadn't been exactly easy.

“Redhawk Caldera is the product of me feeling not so at home where Peregrine and I lived before,” she replied, “so I’m glad to hear it feels like home to you already.” Fox had never felt a sense of home and family back at the plateau, and she did not think she ever would have. It had been Perry's home, his kingdom, and she had never felt settled—even as its Alpha. The wolves there were better off without her, anyway. Half of them had disliked her for no good reason, other than the fact that she had been elevated quickly in the ranks.

“Pry away!” Fox said with a grin. She was always happy to share her own history and what little she knew about the Teekon Wilds. By the time she was an old geezer, she'd probably have loads of stories to tell. “Peregrine and I,” she began, omitting Lasher (because that would open a whole other can of worms), “checked out several other locations before we found Redhawk Caldera.” There had been that valley with the terrifying bear and a few other places that she hadn't been overly impressed with. “Some of them were alright, others were promising, but when we found Redhawk Caldera… I just knew. Probably helped that I managed to disable myself right as soon as we got here, so we kinda got stuck with it in that regard. Slipped and hurt myself pretty bad, though all that seems to have healed nicely.” As if to prove this to herself, Fox poked at her rib with her nose.

Fox let the information sink in before continuing. “Before Blacktail Deer Plateau, I was the Alpha of Swiftcurrent Creek,” she went on, “so I guess I have a bit of experience with the whole ‘leading’ thing.” Fox had learned through trial and error (having far more in the way of errors than successes), and she felt like she was finally at a point where she was at least becoming somewhat likable. It was no secret that she had been disliked both at the creek and at the plateau... but she'd also been quite different back then. At least, she liked to think she had grown since then.

Somnia seemed confident in Fox's abilities as a leader, which was a nice change of pace from her last two positions. Fox felt this was the first place where her position of power was met with respect, not jealousy, fear, or misunderstanding. Swiftcurrent Creek had been slightly better than the plateau, but not by a whole lot. Here, in Redhawk Caldera, things were different. And Fox soaked it up like a lizard in the desert sun. Having wolves around that actually liked her was pretty awesome, she had to admit.

“What about you?” Fox asked, “What kind of plans do you have?” That could mean immediate plans, a five-year plan, or anything in between. Fox was curious about the aspirations of her comrades, wondering where they planned to take their life. Even if their life took them beyond the boundaries of the caldera, Fox would not be upset. She had lived in several packs at this point, so she could not exactly fault anybody for wanting to move on.

Somnia spoke of trades and her wish to stay in Redhawk Caldera. Fox had never been terribly concerned with the little boxes that wolves wished to put themselves into. Personally, Fox just did what was instinctual, and others called her a warden, warrior, and chronicler. It garnered her some respect from others, but they were just labels for what she did best. She had never attempted to become any of those things, she had simply been doing what she excelled in. Wardening had just been part of her duty as a leader. She loved to start fights, which would explain why she was recognized as a warrior. And her time spent in the Teekon Wilds had allowed her to gather the history of Swiftcurrent Creek, Blacktail Deer Plateau, and Redhawk Caldera.

“Do you aspire to have a family of your own one day?” Fox asked bluntly. She wanted to ensure she knew the intentions of others, even if they weren't intentions that she was particularly comfortable with. The sooner she knew, the sooner she could prepare. It would be better to hit the issue head-on rather than deal with it when emotions were high. If Somnia did plan for children in the future, Fox wanted to ensure that the underling knew that Fox and Peregrine's children would come first.

Fox had never been known for her tact, and it was unlikely that part of her would ever change. Almost a year had passed since she had arrived in the Teekon Wilds, and she had done quite a bit of growing, but that part of her seemed set in stone for whatever reason. Fox was not the best at emotions, least of all when they did not concern her directly. If it had been Peregrine speaking... well, that was different. He was one of the few wolves in her life who had been able to elicit some form of empathy from her. Haunter was one of the others, but he was long dead now.

"Any aspirations to lead?" Fox asked. If that was something that Somnia desired, Fox wanted to know. Not because she wished to push her away immediately. No, Fox wanted to make sure that Somnia was on the right track if that was her wish. Even if it was not here, in Redhawk Caldera, Fox really did want the best for her "family." It would also help Fox to determine longer-term plans for the girl. Finley was their Beta now, but who knew what the future would hold. Fox didn't even know if Finley would eventually end up wanting to spin off and do her own thing.

No strong aspirations for family. No desire to lead. It was odd to Fox, if only because she had always been an incredibly ambitious wolf her whole life. Granted, that wasn't entirely true. When she'd come to Swiftcurrent Creek, she'd been more or less directionless. It was there that she'd found her purpose, so perhaps Somnia would find her purpose here in Redhawk Caldera. If that meant one day running off to do her own thing, Fox wouldn't hold it against her. In fact, doing that was far less of a conflict than staying here and being unhappy with the situation.

Somnia's question, however, made it clear that she was perhaps more ambitious and driven than Fox had taken her for. “Perry and I agreed that our children will be the only litter this spring,” Fox replied. “If you prove yourself a loyal member of Redhawk, I don’t see why you couldn’t raise your children here as well.” She said this with a warm smile. She did not want to push Somnia's hopes down, even if the thought of other children made her extremely protective of her right to breed. “As for mates, well… that’s just up to you. Perry and I won’t tell you who you can and can’t screw, so long as they’re also a member of Redhawk.” Fox couldn't imagine hooking up with somebody outside of her own pack, even if she'd done so with Peregrine. Their situation had been... different.

Somnia showed her understanding with a nod. A slight smirk appeared for a moment on how Fox had worded it, but it quickly disappeared. It was good to know these things ahead of time, even if she didn't have any goals for such a thing yet. As much as things seemed it at times, nothing was ever stable. Emotions were an exceptional example of that.

Now, there was that awkward moment for Somnia when you didn't know how to continue the conversation. She had nothing more to say. So what now? Topic change. "Anything you would suggest me doing to better help the pack?"

“Can’t think of anything offhand,” Fox replied. Somnia was doing a fine job of being a helpful member of Redhawk Caldera, and she would no doubt continue to keep on doing what she had been doing. “What do you say we go track down some grub? I'm starving.” That was an exaggeration, of course, but Fox was mighty hungry, and she felt like she could eat a horse. Not only that, but it would mean good bonding time with Somnia.

“Perry said something about a rabbit warren nearby,” Fox offered, taking the first few steps toward a hopeful meal. If Somnia wished, she could come along, and Fox had a good feeling that they'd be able to catch something. If not, Fox would go on without her and wish her a good day.