Wolf RPG

A light drizzle fell upon the caldera today, and Fox blinked away the droplets that collected on her eyelashes. Spring was in full force, the kids continued to grow like weeds, and Fox finally had a bit more freedom. Of course, she still spent much of her time with Peregrine and her three little ones, but life was so much easier now that they were out of the den and at the rendezvous site. Being back out in the open just made everything a little bit better.

Presently, Fox was watching over her brood as they explored their new(ish) home. They hadn't been here too terribly long, and their range would gradually expand as the pups' bodies expanded. Had she mentioned they were growing like weeds? It was hard to believe she'd carried four of them around for two whole months. They'd been so itty-bitty back then.

Pantaleimon had tried to find Fox a couple of times, but each time she did something happened to deter her from visiting the pack's Alpha Female. She'd met Finley and Elwood on two of those episodes, but her fear to meet her new Alpha Female grew with every time that Pantaleimon did not see her. It was probably better not to overthink it, but unfortunately Pantaleimon overthought everything, so it wasn't easy. Pan didn't know the customs of this other pack, since it was the first time she was in a pack that was not the Sirens', and it made her feel more scared and insecure than she had been back in Ankyra Sound.

As Pan walked through the drizzle, she smiled softly. It wasn't quite like the ocean, which Pan missed terribly, but the drizzle reminded her of her precious shores. Paying little attention, it wasn't until the other wolf was quite close that Pantaleimon noticed the ruddy female. Driven by her instincts, Pantaleimon instantly lowered her body, tail tucked between her legs. She wished she could've just walked by the stranger female, but she was too close not to stop for a greeting now. "Ah, h-hello," Pantaleimon awkwardly offered, "I uh, I'm P-Pantaleimon, I'm new." Pantaleimon did not look at the female's face once, avoiding all eye contact. Instead, Pan kept her eyes glued on the ground, determined not to do anything too stupid.

"Panta-what?" Fox replied, deciding immediately that this guy was going to need a much, much shorter name. Fox had never been particularly good at names, and the longer ones were even more confusing. "I'll just call you Pan, kay?" Fox concluded, "I'm Fox. Short, simple, easy." A chuckle bubbled up from her throat. "I guess that kinda describes me, doesn't it?" Not that Pan would know, of course. Her attention was briefly interrupted by @Nightjar waddling up to them and complaining about being hungry, to which Fox told him he would have to wait until Peregrine got back before he could eat again. The boy sulked off, and Fox returned her attention to Pan.

"Sorry about that. They're still in the transition from milk to meat." Nightjar had definitely been the most ornery of the three in that department, though Fox couldn't really blame him. The kid was rather bulky, and they were all growing. Peregrine would be back soon, though, and Fox knew he wouldn't come back without something for the kids (and hopefully her). "So, Pan. What's your story? How'd you find Redhawk Caldera?" Smalltalk wasn't Fox's strong suit, but they had to start somewhere!

"Uh, y-yeah, that's f-fine," Pantaleimon mumbled when Fox suggested that she would call her Pan. It's what a lot of wolves did, anyway; especially those who had not grown up in Nereides culture were not used to long names, it seemed. Pantaleimon wasn't sure if it was a genuine or rhetorical question when Fox said that short, simple and easy described her. One ear perked forward alertly and one poked sideways in uncertainty, looking rather comical, Pantaleimon awkwardly said, "I, uh, I w-wouldn't know." Gods, could she be any more awkward? Pantaleimon knew that she did not live in a pack where females reigned supreme, but it was hard to have her own thoughts and ideas around the pack's Alpha Female, rather than being awkward and quiet and waiting until she was spoken to.

Pantaleimon watched as one of the pups came up to Fox, and poked ears forward in the pup's direction. A small smile danced across Pan's muzzle before it fell off again when Fox sent the boy away and apologised to Pantaleimon. Pan took the 'sorry' with an uncomfortable grimace, not used to such friendly chatter between subordinate and Alpha.

When Fox asked for Pan's story, Pantaleimon cleared her throat before she said, "Uhm, I... I dunno if Perry - uhm, Peregrine - if he told, uh, about me, I... I used to l-live in Ankyra Sound, it's - it's to the North, near the ocean, where, uhm... Anyway, we met one d-day, and Peregrine said if - if I n-needed a different place to stay, I could... So... When e-everyone left Ankyra Sound, I..." Pantaleimon trailed off, before awkwardly resuming a couple of seconds later: ".. came here." All the while Pantaleimon kept her gaze averted, making sure to avoid all eye contact with Fox. Her head was held low and her tail hung between hind legs.

Pan continued to stutter nervously, causing Fox to wonder if the guy actually had some kind of speech problem. Fox had met wolves who either wouldn't (or couldn't) talk, so she wouldn't be surprised to find that there were wolves who just couldn't talk normally. Pan seemed to fall into that category. The news of Ankyra Sound was interesting, to say the least. It was where Junior had spent a short amount of time, and Fox had even met the founding queen—Aktaie—briefly. Apparently, the whole thing had fallen apart. But that was nothing terribly surprising. Packs disbanded all the time.

"Huh," Fox replied, "Well, we welcome anybody here who’s willing to pull their own weight. As long as you get to know the other members and do something useful for us, feel free to stick around." It wasn't as though Fox would kick anybody out the moment they failed to meet the simple requirements, but a lack of gusto for the pack would eventually get one booted. "Have you met anybody aside from Perry yet?" Fox asked. "Did you know Perry from before you left the sound?"

"I can hunt really well," Pantaleimon hastily said when the pack's Queen said that Pan could stick around if she could do something useful for the pack. Her ears flitted back and forward once uncertainly as she did so, offering a nervous grin. Pan wasn't sure why she was more nervous in the presence of her new Queen than she had ever been in the presence of Ankyra Sound's, a wolf she also did not know. Perhaps it was the uncertainty of not knowing if she did things well according to their culture, whereas she had been raised with the Nereides culture.

When Fox asked about her experience with previous members, Pantaleimon thought back to her encounters with Finley and with Elwood and Tiger. They hadn't exactly been the best sort of encounters, but at least Pan was trying. "Yes, uhm... I - I met both Betas and, uhm, and Tiger. I d-din't see the pups yet, because uhm, I wanted to m-meet you first, you know, because pups are s-so frail so I didn't want to see them without, ah, p-permission." Pantaleimon tried to swallow her nerves as best she could and talk as normal as she could manage, but right now it was hard; Pan could only hope that it would come with time within the pack. Realising she hadn't answered the Queen's other question yet, Pan quickly added: "We m-met near here once, and I didn't know a lot of wolves from outside of the S-sound."

"Oh!" Fox said, tittering (yes, I'm stealing that word from Kat) when Pan mentioned that he was a gamekeeper. Or he was just in training. In any case, he seemed to think he could hunt well, and that was enough of a stand to cause Fox to be overjoyed. So often wolves came into the fold of the caldera and had no idea what to do with themselves. They shuffled their feet around, but never really locked down on how they wanted to contribute. It took her a moment to recall who "Tiger," was, though she quickly remembered that it was Finley's long-lost sister.

"Eh, kids aren’t as fragile as you might think," Fox replied. The pale, tan son had been, but Fox was now convinced that he had never been meant for this world. Only the strong survived, and her three hellions were survivors. "You should come by sometime and introduce yourself to them. I’m sure they’d love to hear about… well, whatever it is you sea wolves do. Or did." Fox idly wondered what had happened to Ankyra Sound, but considering it didn't directly involve her, she laid it to rest.

Pantaleimon, in turn, was overjoyed to be invited to the den of the children; she had not dared visit them before, afraid that their mother might not agree with it, and now she was given permission to do so. "Th-thank you, I will!" Pantaleimon hastily said with a rare, thin smile on her face. Of course, she would not tell them too much about the religion, for Peregrine had told her not to, and she didn't want the children to get too excited -- particularly the females -- and decide that they wanted to be sirens, too. Surely Peregrine's wrath would be unending. Pan would only tell them of some bits, and keep others to herself, she decided.

After her excitement and smile died down, Pantaleimon just stood in awkward waiting, waiting to see if the Alpha Female -- the Queen -- wished any more of her.

Pan's enthusiasm brought a smile to Fox's face as well. Unlike some parents, Fox did not wish to throttle her children for whatever choices they made. She would raise them in the ways of the wolf, of course, and if they were no longer a part of the pack, there was little she could do about that. A part of her prayed that at least some of her (hopefully many) children would stick around and carry on the legacy she had only just begun with Peregrine. Redhawk Caldera was meant for them.

"How about right now?" Fox suggested, considering they were all just a short call away. "Kids!" she yelled, calling for the three children (who came running and tumbling over to the two adults). Once they were all there, Fox gave them the instructions. "This is Pan," she said to them, not bothering to try and pronounce the man's full name. "Now each of you can introduce yourselves." Wildfire was first, spouting off her name like the spitfire she was. Nightjar recited his own name next, his young voice lower than that of his sisters'. Last was Raven, who spoke more quietly (as was her nature). When the children began to immediately fidget, Fox nosed them to go back and play.

"There, that's good practice for them, too," she said with a wink.

When Fox suggested Pantaleimon meet the pups right now, she looked alarmed for a moment; Pantaleimon had never been that good with children, especially not female ones, even though she liked to watch them and be around them. But they always seemed so tiny and fragile to her, large and broad as she was, like her mother, and clumsy to boot.

When the pups came to introduce themselves, Pantaleimon nodded at each of them, forcing a smile onto her face as she did. "I'm - I'm Pantaleimon," she softly offered to the pups after their introductions had finished, even though their mother had already introduced Pan at the start of the introduction round.

Pantaleimon watched as the pups departed to play again, thinking back to her own childhood momentarily, and wondering how Sao and Psykhe were doing presently. "Hm? Oh, uhm, yes, it is," Pantaleimon murmured. "Is... Is there anything I can d-do for you, uhm, Queen?" Pan asked, and remained in uncomfortable silence while she waited to see if she could help with anything more.

Fox smiled, watching as the kids rough-housed with each other. Unlike some, Fox had always known that she wanted children. The fireball was plenty determined, and she knew that her kids were going to grow up to be awesome (each and every one of them, dammit). She would push them hard, no doubt, but they would be better for it. Of course, they still had plenty of time to be children. Fox couldn't imagine robbing them of that.

When Pan offered more help, Fox paused to think it over. "Can't think of anything right off hand," she replied, "I'll let you know if I come up with anything, though. Thanks for offering." It took a village pack to raise the children, even if not everybody was directly involved. "You're welcome to hang out a bit if you'd like." Fox wouldn't mind either way, though the company would be a nice change from three young children.

When Fox said she could not think of anything for Pantaleimon to do, Pan nodded. She would hunt, of course, but had mostly meant her offer to mean if she could do anything at this very moment. That question was soon answered when Fox asked her to stay a bit longer. Well, maybe not 'asked', but Pan easily caught the question in Fox' words.

"Of course," Pan was swift to answer and she nodded. "I'm just not very g-good at, uhm... hanging out." Being social was something that was hard with anyone that wasn't, well, bubbly and social like Reek had been. Pan was rusty, had never really learned to socialise much because she had preferred to be alone and wallow in the unfairness of the world at a young age. After that, Pan had simply fallen into her role as Consort without objection, and had thrown herself at her religion and servitude towards the females of the pack. Small talk and hanging out weren't things she did often and thus was good at.

Fox chuckled. There was a time when she hadn't been particularly good at it, either. Her time in Swiftcurrent Creek had taught her to be sociable on some level, and Redhawk Caldera had been an awesome place to perfect those skills. "We don't have to talk. Sometimes, just sitting and watching the kids play is enough," the Alpha said, then reclined into the grass, and kept a watchful eye over the firebirds. Their yips and yaps of childhood wouldn't be around forever, and she wanted to cherish every moment she had with them. They would carry on her legacy, Peregrine's too, and she enjoyed watching them go from little blobs to big ones.

The afternoon sun from overhead was making Fox drowsy, and she began to drift off, only occasionally waking when one of the kids came to bug her or she heard one of them call out a little louder.