Wolf RPG

With the rising sun warming her weary bones, Shar-Kali made her way south from the coast, through Ravensblood Forest, and into the flatlands that stretched endlessly south. There was a chill in the air, and a sparse scattering of unseasonable frost clung to the reawakened flora. The grey-white alpha wolf - once an alpha, always an alpha - crunched her way through the grass, sharp eyes following the line where grassland met mountain. Each side was claimed - she knew this from several hours of careful observation, and despite her age, it was a mountain Shar-Kali wished to return to.

After several hours of walking, she (reluctantly) caught herself a fish in the river and settled down to eat it, poised like a queen though her pack and crown were both long gone. The Teekon Wilds offered the first hope in a long while of re-establishing herself, and Shar-Kali was not the type of lady to do things by halves.

Though he would not travel so far as to be gone Long into the night, Dante did occasionally find himself out in the flatlands due to the necessity of tracking prey.  He'd thought to follow up on a promising game trail, but it had gone cold in the foothills. Instead he wandered by the river, wondering if perhaps fish would be something Osprey would enjoy. He hadn't tried much since his few failed attempts and would possibly like to again.

Seeing that he was not alone, however, made him hesitate. Not keen on embarrassing himself in front of a stranger, he instead approached the water's edge and divulged in a quick drink before appraising her curiously. Obviously she was a more accomplished fisher than he, her prize already being devoured. "Hello," he offered, wondering if she would tell him to get lost or be moving on anytime soon.

Dante was not gifted with invisibility, nor was Shar-Kali blind - she spotted him out of the corner of her eye as he approached her - a speck in the distance, then the vague outline of a wolf. She continued to eat, picking chunks of pale flesh from the translucent bones of her catch until Dante was standing right there at the river's edge. Not until he offered a greeting did she turn her elegant head in his direction and smile. "Hello, handsome," she replied smoothly, folding one paw over the other. "And which Alpha are you?"

She was pure white, a coloration that was not unique in these parts, but nor was it commonplace.  Definitely a stranger to these parts, though perhaps not these lands, for there were many here he did not know.  His brow cocked a bit at her greeting, for he wasn't quite sure if she was being serious, but a warm rumble of a gentle laugh emerged at the next statement. "Am I that obvious?" He asked, for he knew many would argue at the idea of him being particularly alpha-like.

"The plateau that lies nearby is mine. May I ask who you are?"

Shar-Kali's shrewd eyes studied his shifting expression. She unfolded gracefully, rising to sit with her paws pressed neatly together. "I took a guess," she replied, "You have the look, at least." Dante was solidly built and in good health, clothed in a no-frills palette of mixed greys that the older wolf appreciated. He carried himself like a leader ought to, but she got the distinct sense that leadership had not been high on his list of childhood dreams. Shar-Kali had lived for her very own slice of power since she was old enough to understand hierarchy, and the swell of envy she felt for Dante now was a physical sensation. "I am Shar-Kali," the pale woman introduced, dipping her head to him, "Forgive me for dipping into what you likely consider your supplies. I have been on the move for a long time now, and my youth is behind me." Her grey eyes glittered above a closed-lipped grin. "Felling oxen alone is a young lady's game, I'm afraid."

She was an astute creature, that much was clear.  Just how astute, he had no idea, for she was right in every observation.  Even those she did not voice.  He had not realized he carried his mantle so visibly, though he wondered if looking the part made him any more suited to it.  Likely not.  Though he had grown much these past months, it still felt many times as if it were an ill-fitting coat he wore.

A foreign sounding name as well.  He wondered where she came from, though he did not ask.  "Not my lands, not my supplies," he said simply, for he didn't hold with the outreaching territorialism that some wolves chose to take.  Anything that was not claimed was to be shared, and if you weren't clever enough to compete, well then, you went hungry.  "Felling oxen alone is a feat for any age, I've no doubt."  She didn't look so old, but he'd never been great at guessing ages based on appearance.  Honestly he hadn't met many older wolves until he came here... wolves in his homeland didn't tend to live so long.  There was a fine line drawn there between an admirable veteran and a burden to the pack.  The latter was unthinkable.

"Besides that, fish aren't necessarily my strong suit,"  he admitted, glancing at the stream.  Give him a deer or an elk any day, but he had yet to successfully catch one of those slippery little blighters.

"Felling oxen alone is a feat for any age, I've no doubt. Shar-Kali scoffed, once again remember the past as more glorious than it had been. In her mind, she had ruled over a pack of thousands and taken down prey with a glance - the reality was not so glamorous, of course, but dreary details were less likely to survive the passage of time. Shar-Kali rose to her feet and padded over, tail swaying gently to and fro above her hocks. "Young man like you? You'll pick it up," she assured him with a sly wink, and turned to look at the flowing water. "If I give you a lesson, will you help me take down something more substantial and spare me a leg?"

She didn't seem convinced by his statement, but he'd never been one to overestimate his own strengths (or, most times, those of others).  Therefore he too couldn't help but be skeptical with her offer of a lesson.  He'd tried many times.  Perhaps she was some sort of fishing savant, though, and her tricks would help her land him a catch.  Or perhaps she'd be the only one to have luck and he'd have to settle for a piece of the 'something more substantial'.  Either way, food was food.

"I'll take that deal."  Neither was a guarantee, but with the two of them, they had a better chance in success than he would have alone.  Walking to the edge of the river, he peered in.  "So, what's the magical trick that I seem to be missing?"

"I'll take that deal," the Alpha finally decided. Shar-Kali grinned broadly. "Good boy," she praised, meta-tagging with a wink to ensure he recognized the spirit in which it was intended. She motioned with a tip of her head for Dante to come closer, and began to tell him about the delicate art of fishing with her grey eyes trained on the water's' broken surface. "It's all about biding your time," she began. Shar-Kali applied that methodology to a great many things in her life.

Dante watched dutifully as she began to describe the ways in which success might be gained, trying to commit to memory all he was shown. He would give it a good attempt, but he would end the day without a catch to show, a clumsy fisherman at best.

At least any frustration he gained would be worked off when he performed his end of the bargain, a proper hunt where he could use those skills that actually came naturally to him. Sleek and quick he would never be, but powerful he could do.