Wolf RPG

Daylight had begun to wane as Jaws traveled south, carrying with him a freshly killed rabbit; he was not keen to eat in the open where he caught the creature. Not too far from the slopes of the once-burning mountain the coywolf had found himself a suitable clump of bushes. Settling next to them, his back and one side was protected, thus he had two less directions to monitor for trouble. It was an instinct that had formed into habit.

As his long canines began to rip pieces off the rabbit's carcass, his gray jay follower landed on the snow a few feet from his muzzle. The bladed hairs along his nape stiffened, a subtle leer formed on his face. This was the closest the bird had come and Jaws could be fiercely protective of his food. A low growl rumbled deep in his throat, but it subsided as the coywolf watched the bird. It chirped softly, tilting its head from side to side, looking at Jaws - imploring him.

He noticed now for the first time that the bird was very thin, its plumage tousled. Indeed, the gray jay was quite runty. Jaws turned his head, looking away briefly, but his eyes crept back to the bird. With a sigh, his fur relaxing, Jaws snapped a piece of flesh from the rabbit and tossed it to the bird, who gulped it down voraciously.

Unknown to Jaws was that he was very near a pack's borders - a southerly wind pushed the telltale scents away from him.

The smell of blood drew a patrolling Peregrine's attention and he hastened his previously leisurely pace, loping toward the source. When he found himself at the furthest edge of his domain, he paused and then proceeded, driven by curiosity. If he could get his hands on some free food, all the better. Fox would appreciate a meal and, by the smell of it, this blood was fresh.

Unfortunately, with the slain rabbit came a wolf. Licking his chops, Peregrine slowed, then stopped perhaps a dozen feet from the stranger. He eyed him shrewdly, his tail partially arched and his ears thrust forward. This was technically no man's land, though Peregrine was hardly tolerant of interlopers near his lands with his pups arriving any day now. This guy could take his kill and scram.

He opened his mouth to tell the stranger to take a hike when Peregrine noticed the small gray bird nearby. It was just a regular old bird, so far as he could tell, but he blinked hard when he saw the splotch of blood on its pale breast. His neck straightened and he stared at the avian for a moment before his jade eyes shifted back to the strange wolf, suddenly noticing his snaggletooth.

"So, let me get this straight. This is your pet... sparrow?" the swarthy Alpha guessed. "And you feed it meat?"

The gray jay was warier than even Jaws, and several times had been the first to notice when they were no longer alone; but this time, it was Jaws who lifted his head to the sound and movement of a quickly approaching wolf. The bird did not take notice until the wolf was stopped in front of them, and then it was frozen with fear, staring up with wide eyes.

The way the other male carried himself was unmistakable to Jaws: he was commanding, territorial, and undoubtedly had claim to land near by - an alpha. He possessed a similar physique to Jaws - tall and powerful. Even his coat was black save for a few swaths of gray. Although Jaws did not show it visibly, he was uncomfortable. With the bush behind him and this male in front of him his options were limited, and that bothered him.

Jaws, with movements deliberate and slow, rose to a seating position, refraining from pulling himself up to his full height. When the male spoke, a subtle but nevertheless devilish smile curved his lip. "Emergency rations," he joked, and at last the gray jay shrieked and dove into the bush. "I'm just fattening him up."

When the wolf sat up and spoke, the bird squawked and disappeared into a nearby bush. Peregrine stared at the spot where it had vanished, wondering why it hadn't taken flight. His eyes then shifted back to the stranger's face. He tried not to stare right at his overbite, yet those curved fangs drew his eye nonetheless. His gaze fixed on his left tooth in particular.

"So you plan to eat him then?" he asked, a strange note to his voice. It could be likened to disappointment. "I think you should keep him around. I've never seen a predatory sparrow before. You could sic him on your enemies," Peregrine thought out loud. Mo would've killed for a carnivorous pet sparrow, he thought with a twitch of his lips.

Jaws was accustomed to having folks stare at his overgrown canines, but he was unconcerned by it. They posed him no problem, and were perhaps even advantageous in some ways. He briefly touched his tongue to one of them, for no rational reason.

When the alpha suggested keeping the bird around, Jaws was a bit surprised. He would have expected most wolves to criticize him for not eating it. He had even berated himself for not having taken the chance when he had it the first time, for numerous times the bird had been an annoyance to him. But although he was not fully aware of it, he was becoming fond of the bird. Sharing his meal with it was just the beginning.

"It's because I didn't eat him that he's taken to following me around," Jaws confessed with a slight shake of his head. "He's really more of a small crow..." Jaws paused, changing thoughts without expanding on what he meant, "or maybe chicken. I don't think I could sic him on a toad, let alone my enemies."

"Not now, you can't. You have to train him," Peregrine pointed out (sagely, he thought). "Just think of all the possibilities... er, what was your name?" Of course, they hadn't even gotten around to introductions yet. There was no time like the present. "I'm Peregrine, or Perry. I'm from the caldera," he added, motioning toward the squat peak in the distance.

"I met a crow named Jack not long ago," the Alpha wolf shared with a twitch of his tail. "He didn't look like your bird. I'm betting he's a chicken," he opined with a bob of his head. Peregrine liked to think he knew what he was talking about—his mother had been a walking encyclopedia on bird lore—but he really didn't. "Does he have a name?" he wondered.

Jaws allowed an amused smile to lighten his features at the thought of training the bird. He could not be sure if the dark alpha truly thought he should, but either way he appreciated the lightheartedness of the conversation as he was not fond of serious exchanges. He had been quite concerned when he first laid eyes on the Peregrine, looking so imposing, but that discomfort had left him, enough so that he was fine giving his name. "It's Jaws," he answered, adding "from nowhere specific."

The gray jay had tucked itself in the deepest tangle of the bush, refusing to show itself. Jaws turned his head to glance back at it briefly, catching only glimpses of the bird's gray and white plumage. Peregrine asked it had a name, and Jaws shook his head. "Bird?" He offered helplessly. "I really haven't given him much thought."

Peregrine tried very hard not to laugh at the surprisingly fitting moniker, so what resulted was a sort of odd snort. Trying to control his voice, he said, "Nice to meet you, Jaws." Once more, he found himself staring right at the male's overgrown canines. "Any particular story behind the name...?" he asked, still trying very hard not to giggle like a foolish schoolgirl. "I'm named after a relative," he added.

"You should call him Dick," Peregrine suggested, "because he's a predatory chicken and if you mash those two words—'predatory' and 'chicken,' I mean—together, you get 'Dick.'" You'll have to pardon him; his role player is in a very silly mood right now. "Speaking of dicks... we could use a few of them around the caldera. There's all these hot girls, many of them single, and almost no dudes. Are you on the market for a place to stay?"

When Peregrine asked him if there was a story behind his name, Jaws flashed him a toothy grin. "I believe I was named for my best feature. How they picked just one I'm not sure." Truthfully, he could only assume he was named for his striking canines once they made their appearance. He may have been named differently at birth but he did not know.

Jaws laughed heartily when the alpha suggested he called the bird Dick, and the grin never left his face when he went on to explain that his pack was in need of some of the very same, with many single hot girls to boot. Peregrine might not have known it, but he was speaking Jaws' language. "Well I'm always on the market," Jaws winked, "and it wouldn't hurt for me to stop wandering around, I suppose - If you're offering."

Jaws winked at him and Peregrine thought, Hook, line and sinker! He wasn't even lying, not exactly; there were several single females running around the caldera, although whether or not they were attractive was up for debate. A few of them would be good catches, some others... maybe not so much.

He thought about his recent conversation with Somnia and bobbed his head. "We could use some more testosterone around the place. More specifically, I could use some able-bodied Wardens and Gamekeepers to step up while I'm busy with my pups. They're due, like, any day now," he shared. "Are you interested in pursuing either of those trades, Jaws?"

Jaws had lived alone since he was just a pup, and as such had only a rudimentary understanding of how a pack functioned. The concept of having specific trades was new to him, but he understood what was being asked of him and he knew he could easily provide that. Jaws was impressively skilled at hunting, and his formidable body could defend when needed. "Yes, I am well-suited to both," Jaws answered with a nod, quietly thankful that he was not being called upon to do anything with pups or anything terribly social at this time.

Peregrine truly liked Jaws, in spite of (or maybe because of...?) his strange overbite and his predatory pet chicken. The man had a good sense of humor and was as straightforward as they came. The Alpha knew a good recruit when he saw one.

"Then consider this an official offer to join us at the caldera—you and Dick. If you accept, all I ask of you is your loyalty, contribution and support. In exchange, you'll have food, shelter and protection. You'll be a part of our family. And if you ever want to leave, just let us know." That was perhaps an odd thing to include but, seeing as how pertinent it had become lately, Peregrine thought it belonged there in his sales pitch.

Peregrine's offer was fair, and Jaws found a bit of comfort in knowing that he would be allowed to leave should he desire, so long as he had the courtesy of telling them first. "I officially accept your offer," The coywolf replied with a deep bow of his head, his former smile returning. "I'm sure Dick does too," Jaws gestured with his muzzle to the bird, who has peering out from a hole in the branches, its curiosity outweighing its fear at this point. He did not doubt the bird would follow him, he doubted he would ever be without it.

"Awesome," Peregrine replied when Jaws accepted. His tail wagged. "It'll seriously be great having another guy around. The only others are Elwood, the Beta, and Theseus. Then there's that slew of ladies I mentioned: Fox, my mate; Finley, Elwood's mate; Somnia, Grimm, Dove and Magpie." Was it a coincidence that they were in the same order he would personally rate them...? "Fox and Fin are off limits, of course, but you can always give it a whirl with the others."

Noticing Dick peeking out from the shrub, Peregrine decided to address the killer chicken directly. "I promise I won't eat you. I won't let any of the others eat you either." His jade eyes shifted back to Jaws's face. "You two wanna follow me? I'll lead you back, then you can make yourself at home."

Jaws attentively listened to Peregrine as he listed the names of his pack members, unable to resist cracking a joke at the mention of two of the females being off limits, "Dang, no sharing?" he chuckled, and although he felt that Peregrine understood perfectly, he added for good measure: "I kid, of course. I won't be any trouble." The coywolf meant it; he liked a good romp as much as the next male but was not interested in ruffling feathers over it, especially feathers like Peregrine's.

As the dark alpha addressed the bird, it did not but stare back at him, shifting on its little feet. "Ah, he'll be along," Jaws said, for even when he thought the bird gone it had showed up again as soon as it felt safe to do so. "Lead the way."

Actually...! Peregrine thought with a little smirk, though he didn't say anything just now. Perhaps they could broach that topic once they got to know one another better. He wasn't particularly willing to share Fox with another male unless he was involved with the wolf too... and the idea of letting someone named Jaws, complete with tusks, near his junk was mildly terrifying.

Letting that train of thought run the rails into the distance, Peregrine began to trot back toward the misshapen peak he—they—called home. It was nearly dark and he wanted to get back to Fox, so he would probably tell Jaws to give himself the ground tour. But he was happy to stick with him until they reached the base of the mountain and the Alpha could point his newest recruit in the direction of some lodgings.