Wolf RPG

Another late night saw Stingray rising late in the morning and feeling drowzy during his early afternoon patrol. He'd spent way too much time with the stargazers, staying up into the wee hours of the morning to share stories and watch the cosmos and sleeping through the better part of the day. It would take time to recalibrate his sleep schedule, but he felt guilty. It reminded him of when he was young at Moonspear, feeling lost and without a purpose or use to his pack.

He rounded the northern bend of their claim, deep in Orca's forest, and paused to refresh another scent marker. The names his parents had given to the various locales within Sun Mote Copse were endearing and filled Stingray with memories, although as he contemplated his wayward little sister, he realized he hadn't spent a lot of time with her. There weren't many memories to reminisce on.

Feeling sad about that, Stingray doubled his pace. He would be a better big brother this time around. The littles weren't here yet, but they would be soon enough. Until then, he supposed he could practice by being a better packmate as well. Rumor had it @Fennec was here and sticking around. He didn't know his aunt well at all, having met her in passing maybe once in his entire life, but there was no time like the present to get to know someone. There was @Nyssa as well, the voice heard during the group howl that he hadn't recognized. Grandma @Towhee was visiting, too, but he planned to visit her a bit later.

With one last spritz of urine, Stingray concluded his border patrol and headed toward the territory's heart, wondering where he might find one of his packmates. Nerves fluttered in his belly, surprising even him. He'd always been an outgoing wolf, but the last time he tried to make friends, well, it hadn't gone particularly well.

Nyssa had had the displeasure of waking with a headache that morning. What a wonderful way to start the day. But really, she had no one else to blame but herself, for choosing to sleep out in the cold winter air last night. She was familiar with almost the whole territory by now, save for one or two landmarks. Yet, she still had not chosen a den site for herself.

The Taigh was the perfect communal area. Deep, cozy, spacious and warm. She loved the concept of tucking in, sleeping amidst the comfort of trusted pack mates. It was how she and her family had lived and a feeling she so deeply missed. But Meerkat was expecting her puppies very soon now. She didn't want to crowd her and Njord during this time. And Nyssa was still new. Not quite at the comfort level where she was ready to immerse herself so closely, despite her yearning.

She had been in the middle of crossing from one side of the Copse to the other, deep in investigating a scent she had picked up in the morning. The occasional discarded feather and telltale skinny, clawed prints in the snow, identified the owner. A wild turkey. And she was on it's trail. Catching rather fresh markings to reinforce their claim, she put aside any concern of her own. She could do her round later in the day. With her nose to the ground, amber eyes flashing up from time to time, she was led into the unmistakable area marked by a large tree stump. Not expecting anyone to be around, she was surprised to see the golden blonde fur of another wolf. Enough to distract her from her task, temporarily. Diverting from her path, true to form, the slate female called out in a friendly way, tail waving loosely.

Stingray forced thoughts of his former "friends" from his mind, blinking back to reality and finding he didn't recognize where he was. There was a sizable stump in the center of a cozy clearing. Unbeknownst to Stingray, this was where his father had howled from several days prior. They had narrowly missed The Gathering Place on his tour when he returned to the Copse, so Stingray took a few minutes to familiarize himself with the area. He was sure his parents had some name for it; there was no way they'd missed this big old stump just sitting here.

Stingray placed his forepaws atop the uneven surface and nearly pulled himself up on top of it, but he was stopped by the appearance of an unfamiliar wolf. Her darker points stood out starkly from her even grey fur. Stingray lifted his head and muzzle and almost called out a greeting, but she looked like she was busy with something, so his voice died in his throat. He didn't want to bother anyone.

Thankfully, Nyssa was more socially gifted than Stingray was. She took note of him and changed her course and he shot her a smile in return. Hey there, he said, tail wagging as he dropped his forepaws back to the ground and stepped around the stump to meet Nyssa on the other side. You looked kinda busy, I didn't want to distract you. Can I help with anything?