He struggled with thinking of the plateau as his home, because if home is where the heart is, Peregrine still very much lived in Flightless Falcons, specifically in the small den he'd shared with Osprey all their lives. Yet he made an effort to treat the place as he would the meadows and forests of his birthplace. He made rounds at the borders, worked on mapping and stocking the caches and resolutely refused to leave the territory, seeing no reason to do that, now or ever. His motives weren't spectacular—he did these things primarily to avoid insanity, secondarily to contribute—but he did his duty nonetheless.
"Fake it 'til you make it," he announced sourly to no one after dropping a slain rabbit in a cache near the plateau's edge. His eyes hardened and he stared off into the forest for a few beats. Instead of anger, aching misery crept over him as he thought of Osprey. Catching himself, he snarled sharply and shook his swarthy head. "Fake it 'til you make it," he repeated emphatically, his large, lissome form stalking off down a deer trail.
Vires was a nomad at heart. After her travels to the coast she couldn't wait to get out again and adventure out into the unknown. She took the trip to the coast with her friend and ex pack mate Pied, who inevitablly didn't return but Vires had no bitter feelings towards her.
Vires enjoyed wandering. Finding her at the outskirts of the packs territory was not something that was unfamiliar. What was unfimilar was finding another wolf out so far from the safety of the middle of their territory, especially one that was talking to himself. She watched as he dropped a hare into the pack's cache. He chanted the phrase fake it till you make it twice before Vires chose to step in. "Chances are" Vires announced stepping out of her cover as she watched the large, brooding male trot away. "If you have to fake something, you won't make it. In the end that is.
A voice spoke behind him and he whirled, the fur on his nape prickling and his lips peeling back slightly to reveal the tips of his yellowing fangs. When his eyes fixed on the she-wolf, he didn't relax, per se, but he smoothed out his aggressive grimace. He regarded the stranger coldly. He wanted to snap at her to leave him alone. Yet Peregrine resisted this impulse, which would surely see him exiled for bad behavior. The thought curdled his stomach and soured his expression.
Swallowing his bitter words, he continued to give her a bit of a glare for a few seconds before replying slightly waspishly, "I can't abide by that attitude. I have no choice but to fake it." He paused, shifted his weight, then added, "I'm Peregrine." There would be no extraneous pleasantries offered. This was Peregrine at his politest, especially given the circumstances.
If Vires was an extremely dominate wolf like her leader, Hawkeye, the male wolf would made regretted the way he reacted to a friendly figure. When he showed his ugly teeth Vires decided it would be best to scold him. He mentioned his name and his reason for "You, Peregrine, are lucky that I wasn't Hawkeye. If you bear your teeth like that at her your ass would be grass before you could speak your fowl words with that acid like voice. " Vires spoke calmly keeping her face straight. "If I ever hear you treating another wolf like you just treated me, above or below you in rank, I will make sure you regret it." Vires snapped at the male.
Vires tried never to be angry or mean at any wolf. She understood that sometimes life twisted you into something far from your original state. "Life is hard, I understand that. We have all had our fair share of torment. Whatever it is that is making you act this way. I'd suggest you eliminate it then you wouldn't have to fake it." Vires after taking a few seconds to calm herself down retained her normal composer. "I am Vires, now if you would like me to leave you alone I'd be more than happy to." She concluded.
The she-wolf really tested his patience by proceeding to rebuke him like a misbehaving child. He ground his teeth together so hard, he felt certain they would all shatter into pieces. Peregrine leered as she patronized him, remaining icily silent, though he mocked her inwardly for her ignorance.
When she finally allowed him to get a word in edgewise, Peregrine grated out, "You don't know me or my life, so I'm going to tell you once: back off." He punctuated this statement with a ruffling of his fur to drive in the point; she didn't need to be trifling with him and his personal business. "Believe me, lady," he added, "I don't want to be in my current situation. Some things in life are just out of your control."
She offered to leave and Peregrine almost took her up on it, yet he pressed his lips together for a moment and eventually said instead, "You should know that Hawkeye doesn't have a problem with the way I talk. Just keep that in mind before you go around dropping names and making threats," he finished pertly.
Vires tried her hardest to keep a calm demeanor when talking with Peregrine. She knew perfectly well that some things in life you couldn't control, but there were some things you could. "You're right, i dont know you. And you dont know me. You can't control everything in life. But you know what you can control Peregrine?" Vires continued on. "The way you act. I know many wolves who have had terrible misfortunes but act as though the world gave them nothing but good fortune." Vires at this point felt there was no hope for some one who wallowed in their self pity like it was a game.
Vires let out a grin as he mentioned Hawkeye's good favor with him.Hawkeye was her pack mate, then turned leader. Vires had stood by her since she took over Bon Dye. "I wasn't threatening you. I was giving you advice. I have known Hawkeye for a while and one thing she doesn't like, are wolves that are insubordinant. And you sir are showing an exceptional talent for it."
He partially expected her to lash out at him and for the situation to get heated. Instead, Vires kept a cool head, levelly pointing out that, while his circumstances weren't of his choosing, he could decide whether to let it affect him this way. She also assured him that she wasn't threatening, merely advising him. She tartly observed his flair for insubordination and Peregrine frowned at her, stymied by her unflappable temper.
"I only bared my teeth because you startled me," he retorted, albeit without the earlier vehemence. His lips parted to say something else, yet Peregrine came up empty-handed. And, suddenly, the fight went out of him, leaving him feeling sullen. So all he said was, "Whatever," which was his passive/aggressive way of acknowledging Vires's rectitude. It wasn't his nature to pick fights with she-wolves anyhow.
Vires chuckled when the male said the only reason for his mean attitude was because Vires had startled him. While she doubted that, she decided to play along. "my massive size and strength does seem to always scare wolves." Vires sparred jokingly to the male.
She hadn't meant to start off on such bad terms she just didn't want him to be so upset. But by interjecting her own opinion it seem to make the male more upset than he already was.
He could tell she wanted to lighten the mood, yet he wanted nothing of it. Peregrine didn't have a humorous bone in his body at the moment. He stared at her frowningly, then shook his head lightly and looked away. He gazed off into the forest and remained silent for a long moment.
Abruptly, he spoke. "It's not so funny to you when you've just been attacked from behind by your elder brother, only to have him violently beat your ass and exile you from the pack you were born into and lived in for nearly three years," he mused bitterly. Turning to face her, he added, "And that's why I have to fake it 'til I make it. I've had everything I've ever known ripped away from me without warning or cause. You'll have to excuse me if I have a bad attitude about it."
His head dropped and he stared at his charcoal forepaws for a beat before sucking in a breath. "I should stop letting it get to me. It means Tyrannus is still winning. It's just really fucking hard, okay?" He nearly hissed. More flatly, he said, "I'd welcome any distractions you'd like to provide, Vires."
Vires frowned when Peregrine broke down in front of her. She herself has never felt the pain of exile let alone by her own brother. She had no idea how to help him. Vires was never good with her own emotions let alone others. Vires honestly sympathized with the male, when his head dropped Vires let hers drop too in empathy.
"I have never felt your pain but I feel for you. As for destractions, I have two options." Vires gave a slight pause making sure these were the best choices. "You can vent to me about it, or we can go hunting togeather. Unless you have a better idea."
Although Peregrine wanted her to understand the cause of his bad temper, he did not feel like dwelling on it or opening up to some stranger about his turmoil, for that matter. He shook his head emphatically and replied, "No way I'm going to cry on your shoulder like a little bitch—no offense." He licked his lips slowly. "I'll take you up on the hunting, though. What did you have in mind?"
Although she'd proposed the idea, Peregrine motioned for her to follow him as he set into motion again. If he kept moving, it helped him keep his mind clear. It also felt good on a very, basic feral level, with the blood pumping in his veins and the breath pouring in and out of his lungs to remind him that, in spite of everything, he was still alive.
Vires held the frown on her face when he made his comment about crying. While she hardly expressed emotion to anyone it upset her when wolves thought that showing emotion means weakness. "Whenever you want to talk I'm here." Vires mentioned trying to be a decent packmate. Vires noticed that the macho males normally were the one with the stereotype in their head. Ih well one day Peregrine would have a mate that he could open up to. Until then hunting would have to do.
Vires tilted her head when the male walked away and gestured for her to follow before she could answer. "He's a piece of work isn't he?" Vires noted to herself. Vires trotted after the swarthy male. "Deer? With a strong wolf like myself we should have no problem taking one down." Vires said trying to lighten the mood again and distract the make.
Vires offered her services again and Peregrine's nostrils flared. He said nothing. He had no intention of seeking counsel from her or anyone else, for that matter. It wasn't personal. Rather, the opposite was true. Back home, Peregrine hadn't exactly been an open book (except with Osprey) but he'd known and trusted everyone in the pack well enough to discuss his concerns when he needed to unload his mind. Here, he didn't know anybody nearly well enough to let himself be vulnerable. That day was a long ways off, if it would ever come at all.
She loped to catch up with him and eventually the two managed to find a pace that worked for them both. Vires suggested they try their luck with a deer and Peregrine looked at her speculatively. A deer was the typical choice for a full-scale pack hunt, not a pair. However, he thrilled at the risk. Nothing could get his mind off his problems like a challenging hunt. Thusly, he decided to accept her proposal.
"Deer it is," he agreed without slowing. "You're pretty daring, Vires. Are you a hunter by profession?" he wondered. "In my former pack, I was an Eagle, a fancy word for a hunter and provider. Is there a synonymous term here for the wolves that feed the pack?"
Vires noticed his reaction to her offering to be there for him. She brushed it off, if he wanted to talk great if he didn't even better. After catching up to the male and trotting beside him a few feet apart she noticed how big he was. Now Vires knew she wasnt by any means a large wolf but he was almost bear like. When he asked her if she was a hunter by nature she huffed.
"I'm a small wolf, I was never meant to feed a pack. I'm just a messenger. You don't need any physical skill for that." Vires said flatly. She in some ways was jealous of the wolves who had unnatural speed or strength or size and she was stuck in a small body that was good for next to nothing. Her face contorted for a second when she thought about this. Vires listened as the bear of a wolf said he used to be a hunter in his old pack. "I do believe hunters are called gamekeepers. " Vires added trying to remember all the side job names.
Gamekeeper? he thought skeptically, for no other reason than because he felt very contradictory at the moment. He didn't give voice to this sentiment, though, and filed away the term for later reference. Whatever the title, he knew he wanted to pursue the role. Tracking, killing and storing meat were the skills for which he was born and bred.
"Well, I beg to differ," he rejoined. "A messenger requires stamina. Not just anyone can run all over creation delivering messages. I don't really understand the practice in general, though," he added before Vires could possibly mistake him for a favorable creature. "I never understood the point of leaving the territory and mingling with outsiders, much less wasting resources conveying messages to them. What is the point?"
When the male questioned her position, well wanted position in the pack Vires got snappy. Before she could give the make the satisfaction if what he wanted, to enrage her, she calmed herself down. She like to travel, frankly Vires didn't care what her job was as long as she want stuck in one portion of the world.
"Keeping your enemies close is always a good idea. If you have a wolf constantly traveling near their location, well it's hard to hide things." Vires retorted. While she knew very little about the wolf Vires nearly guaranteed he couldn't find a flaw in that logic. "While it's hard for you...all brawn wolves to ever think critically about plans, having an insider into your eniemies movements is a great advantage" Added Vires.
Edit on 02/03: I'm adding a conclusion to archive this, since Vires has been removed.
Although it was a blunt question, he meant no particular offense by it and his eyes narrowed when Vires tensed. If she was bothered by his inquiry, however, she didn't let onto it beyond that. After a moment, her tension passed and she gave him her honest answer. Peregrine coaxed the stiffness out of his own muscles and, to his credit, he listened with an open mind.
"Hold on, you've described a spy, not a messenger," he pointed out to her. "I can understand the role of a spy a little more but my overlying question is: why are we bothering with other packs at all? We're neither friends nor enemies with those who aren't in our pack, right? Unless they try to take our territory or our food, why do we need to take them into consideration at all? That's all I'm asking."
Vires scarcely had a chance to reply before the two wolves stumbled across an unmistakable scent trail. "There's your deer," Peregrine observed dryly, pausing to tilt his black muzzle into the air. He read the invisible messages there as easily as a human reads a book. "They're moving north to south-southwest. There's... it's just two does and their fawns, though I imagine those fawns are nearly grown at this time of year. We could try taking one of them." His dusky eyes locked on Vires's face.
She looked back at him with an expression that accepted the challenge—the opportunity—presented to them. Wordlessly, the two black wolves bounded off into the brush in pursuit of hot meat, the outcome of their hunt revealing itself a bit later on in the scent of blood on the wind, the low notes of a triumphant howl and the taste of victory in the air.