Wolf RPG

The successful hunt had caused Tonravik's spirits to rise. She had hungered, and at last, she had a satisfying meal that truly filled her belly. Tonravik had watched her pack fall into their present pecking order, but had hellishly kept them away from her food until she had her share. Tonravik had not such a feast in a while. And they had all eaten well. Tonravik slept a long time afterward, as wolves were wont to do when they ate a terrible amount, and when she rose, she moved to find the scraps of the moose again. It was nearly bare to its bones, but there was plenty left to cache.

So she ripped into muscle and tendon and tore at whatever was left, separating it as neatly as a wolf could, before carrying a large share of it to a nearby cache. Her head was weighed down from the weight of it, but she squared her shoulders and was able to keep the large piece between her jaws without dropping it.

His belly had not been so full in a long time, for although Kodiak had taken time to eat on his journey, that time had been minimal. He fed on the nearest, quickest thing, fresh or long since dead, and ate only enough to fuel him on the next leg of his track. By choice, he was among the last to eat, for he endeavored to establish himself and assess his packmates before competing for better status.

He, too, slept when he had eaten his fill, and was about to rise and patrol when a vigilant eye caught his dark Alpha moving toward the moose once more. Kodiak knew she would be caching the rest of the meat, for she certainly could not be hungry, and so chose instead to assist. When he caught up to her, she had already taken a large chunk between her teeth.

Wordlessly he passed her, with his head lowered and his rugged body brushing lightly against her. It was an affectionate gesture, not in the loving sense but in the sense of unity between them, for they were Tartok, and Tartok was a family that spanned the branches; it did not matter that he had just been accepted into this division. But there was another reason for it: one Tonravik may or may not infer. Kodiak had sought to take her scent upon his coat, and more so to leave his on hers.

He approached the carcass, making short work of tearing another chunk from it, and then followed the Alpha to where it was to be cached.

The bear of a woman heard his heavy plod, an ear twitching to acknowledge him as she continued to drag the heavy meat, pausing now and again to rest and look around her. But she was quick to get back to work, picking the thing up and tugging it again toward the nearest cache. While there was some open land within the Spine, she preferred the hide the meat in her forests. As Kodiak came toward her she dropped the portion she held unceremoniously, tail waving as he came nearer. Tonravik looked to him as his body moved lightly against her own, curling to nip at his hindquarter in her own rough display of companionship. The wolf was a woman who physically demonstrated her affections by dominating others. It had always been her way.

Tonravik was content, for a moment, to let her meat remain where it was and simply observe him. Her tail waved when she noted he was joining her in this arduous task, and she chuffed appreciatively. Tonravik moved to grip her piece again and continued to tug. In time they came to a forest, the small meadow they had brought it down in not too terrible a distance from where she stowed the food, and she again left the meat and pointed her snout at the large cache for Kodiak to see.

Kodiak's tail waved and he gave a nod to her chuff. His parcel of moose he carried aloft, but it dragged as he walked, such was the elongated shape that he had managed to tear free from the fallen mammal. His eyes scanned as he trailed Tonravik, observing details most would pass over without so much a glimpse.

The cache was not far, tucked securely in the forest that neighbored the meadow. Here, his Alpha dropped her meat and gestured to him the pack's store. Kodiak stepped forward with his meat, taking just a moment to eye the cache before he dropped it, and worked it into place with his paws and snout. He tucked the moose as far back and as tight as he could, leaving space for more.

He would remember this cache, and would help to ensure it remained full.

Tonravik observed the male make short work of the task she had silently given him, watching his own furs shift as his muscles worked to pull land free and then hide the meat away. When he was done with his own, Tonravik moved to deposit her own large chunk of meat there as well, and then buried it. With that done, the alpha looked around them, an ear twitching. She discovered things frequently, but had hardly the time to truly investigate her land as she had wished to. Their numbers had grown, however, and it was as good a time as any to scout out the babbling waters she heard, carrying less sound than a river but more than a stream.

Her interest piqued, Tonravik moved in that direction, following the sound at a brisk jog, sure Kodiak would come to join her in her investigation. The sound increased in volume as she grew nearer as it ought to, and her eyes found a stream. She trailed the winding waters from afar, and looked over her shoulder for the brown bear.

Kodiak stepped back, allowing his Alpha the room to deposit her meat. While she buried, he rubbed himself against a nearby bush and cocked a leg to mark it. Much like their borders this was a defensible site, and any intruding predator helping themselves to it would be met with unforgiving teeth.

Tonravik's certainty that he would follow when she moved to investigate the sound of water was not unfounded, for he did not so much as think a moment before his broad paws carried him after her. At a brisk jog the pair found the source of babbling quickly, a clear stream. She looked over her shoulder as he made his way to her side, trailing the stream with her.

A stream like this was a prized feature in any territory, providing the pack with accessible water, and perhaps even fish for those who could catch the swift denizens. If not fish there were at least muskrat, confirmed when a faint scent drew Kodiak to break from his Alpha's side and step to the stream bank, where he found the rotting remains of a small 'rat that looked to have been half eaten by some predatory bird.

Tonravik found that this territory offered a great many things. It was a secluded gem, the unbroken ring of mountains standing tall as a sentinel to the undiscovered territories that lay within it. She looked to Kodiak as he moved to investigate, and she sniffed at the air. Muskrat. Her ear twitched as the sound continued, and her eyes caught the sight of a small, stunted waterfall that made the current quicken. It was not the only one; there was a small cluster that kept the waterbeds moving.

If she appreciated beauty, she might appreciate this. But the only thing she could appreciate here was the fact that this was churning freshwater, and that within this stream swam fish. It also meant that there would be bears in her territory... but those could be dealt with. Her eyes lingered on the spot, and her ears took in the sound of the run.

Kodiak did not linger on the muskrat long, he had only been curious to see how it had died. Its rotting carcass might seem inconsequential to some, but to Kodiak it was a detail not to be overlooked, for such small things could tell you more about the lands you stalked and those that dwelled within. Things that he thought worth knowing. But then, he was a vigilant and detailed sort, and he overlooked nothing.

He resumed his position next to Tonravik, who was studying the small falls that churned the stream, and his gaze followed hers. "Did any stay?" he asked with a sidelong glance, referring to those who lived here before she claimed it for Tartok.  

Tonravik hungered to know more of her territory; the plants it harbored and their uses, and the lands within it and the things it hosted. Kodiak was soon beside her, and Tonravik turned to look at the male. It took a moment to comprehend what he meant, and she nodded. Tonravik could think of some. And so she nods. "A few." These wolves she thought of fondly. Tonravik did not know them well, and they did not know her; but they were prepared to be a part of something bigger, something better. Their remaining meant they had chosen strength. And they would be given just that.

"She returned, and some went," she informed. Tonravik could not find her, and it reminded her that she wanted to find that place she had gone. It had not rained since then, and Tonravik recalled her odor... she wondered if she could find it. "We could find their scents," she hums. It had only been a couple of days, and scents had a way of lingering. She wanted the bear beside her to know them. They had become her enemies, of course, but not to the extent of her being after them. Only that should they return, it went without question that they would be attacked upon arrival. She had given them their chance.

Kodiak wondered briefly at these few who stayed, but if they had been given the chance to leave as he inferred by Tonravik's follow up comment that 'she' had returned and taken some with her, then they were packmates worthy of his trust. He would not treat them any different. Further to that if Tonravik had seen fit to keep them, then that was to their credit.

"I should know them," he said, his words carefully chosen such that he did not make it sound as though he was leading her with comments along the lines of we should or let's do that. Indeed, the pair of bears were thinking on the same lines. Kodiak wanted to breathe the scents and remember them, for none who abandon this pack would be welcomed upon their return, the Tartok did not stand for that. He looked to Tonravik, awaiting her lead.

Tonravik nods at his words, agreeing. "It is in a place I have not yet found." She grits her teeth at this. Not even he would be able to help her, there, given the fact he had yet to know these scents. But admittedly, she had not searched all that hard yet. There was no scent of rain to come, and so she had not made haste to discover the tracks of the wolves that had gone.

Even so, she would find it, now. She turns from the small falls, using her snout and pressing it to the earth. They would need to move to the more difficult parts of the territory to find her scent... and that was fine by her, well traveled in mountains far more difficult than this. Arktayok Peak had been a treacherous one; the Spine promised fewer betrayals with its kinder landscape, though that was not to say it was not dangerous itself.

Kodiak followed her lead, his own muzzle dipping to seek traces of scents upon the earth, more of habit for he did not know all of his packmates and could not discern which scents were which. As this was mostly futile he soon concentrated on scenting the winds and further observing the terrain they crossed. Tonravik could afford her full attention on her task with Kodiak vigilant beside her.

He travelled in silence for sometime, before he posed another question, spreading these out that he not irritate her with a barrage all at once. "What do you call this place?" Did this pack bare the name of Tartok, for all its resemblance? Or did it still run under the banner it held before? It did not matter, but he wished to know.

Tonravik did not mind the questions of the brown bear. They were for intel, not for pointless blabber; that she could understand. For some miles they moved, heading upward toward some steep ground. She knew that the wolf had been near the borders when she had come, simply toward a more difficult area to get to given her lack of knowledge of the place. From where they were, it took an hour at a brisk, leisurely trot. And she assessed the climb they would need to make, one ear cupping backward to catch Kodiak's words.

"Ouroboros Spine," she informs. "I will keep it." The name was strong, and beneath the guise of the name, Tartok perhaps would grow again; she had much determining to do. Many that were of the Spine had gone, and she, the savage romantic she was, dreamed of making this place more than it had ever been. And so she began to climb, bighorn sheep observing them nearby. Her muscles coiled and she propelled herself upward, the climb challenging and invigorating to the woman who veritably glowed with the challenge presented. Up and up, toward its peak she traveled, listening for signs that the bear behind her followed.

Kodiak nodded. Ouroboros Spine it was, and it the name did not displease him. It sounded strong, befitting of the one who lead it and those that followed her, and it would only be made stronger in the coming days. He was fortunate to have found his dark Alpha when he had, for he would be present to see the pack grow and rise, not from the beginning of its conquering but close enough. And he would grow with it, and if he had his way, he too would rise.

Tonravik need not listen hard, Kodiak was close to her heels as he climbed in pursuit, choosing his own footholds and path however, trusting his instincts to guide his paws to where they needed to be. The brown bear had an appreciation for rough terrain that lent power to his muscles, training them more than easier terrain could. "This spine," he said. "It's favorable."

He went his way, and she went hers; Tonravik bounded upward, until at last they reached the top. There was a great view, here; she could see most everything from here. He spoke again, and she nodded. The place had everything they needed. Avian creatures, water sources, moose, elk, deer, and then some. It had its fair share of predators, too; they would be dealt with. She could not linger atop this ridge too long, wanting to travel it. She moved toward the side of the mountain face riddled with moss, grass, and as she had imagined she had heard, water. The water fell downward but disappeared into the mountain itself, leading no doubt into another gem the Spine would one day yield to her. 

But her snout pressed to the earth and she searched on, descending more. The wretch would not dare to climb so high, and Tonravik moved downward, her muscles screaming. But she did not pause, hungrily drinking in the scents of all things that had passed through... until one vaguely familiar scent came to her, and others... 

"Here," she hummed. 

Tonravik knew none of their names. But, names were irrelevant. Scents would stay with you, that much, she knew. 

Kodiak continued to follow his dark leader, pausing only to sniff deeply the place where water plunged into the mountain, out of sight, falling to some yet unknown location. He detected few scents there, for the water and moss that grew on the surrounding rocks shrouded whatever might lie beneath. With lengthy strides he returned to his former proximity to Tonravik, who had begun to descend the face of the spine. He picked his own pathway down, just as he had going up.

There was a subtle change in Tonravik that he keenly noticed when her nose caught the scent she had been seeking. Here, she hummed, and he the brown bear dropped his nose with focus. He breathed in the scents, several individual ones, and they were registered in his mind. "I won't forget." he said firmly, for he would not. Kodiak's strategic mind harbored many details, a few more would not stress it.

Tonravik watches him take in their scents, and she did not doubt that these were scents he would not forget. She is glad to hear it, and gladder still to have found the place the woman had come to, in order to find her wolves. It was better that she learn the territory, know it better than even the once-leader had. Surely the wolf would forget this place in lieu of learning another... and, if not, Tonravik would know it all the more, her mind keener for the fact that it had become hers. 

The leader looked to the area before moving to mark around it. Mine. Mine. Mine. Her scent was beginning to dominate the land she had taken over. The wolf who led this place once before would become only a memory to those that remained here only her regime; if ever they left, she would simply become nothing at all, which, to Tonravik, was how the other stood. 

As Tonravik marked, Kodiak watched. He wanted to join her, but his acceptance under her rule was so fresh that he allowed her the space to leave her own scent, and just her own. In time, he would be less and less reserved as he moved toward his next goat, but his strategy dictated that he integrate more fully first. His only movement was a very slight lean forward, his nose seeking to capture a specific set of telltale scents from his dark leader, but none were present. He might have more closely inspected her leavings, but his intentions he wanted kept to himself, for now.

"They were foolish to leave," he rumbled as his gaze cast out across spine that encompassed them, and the valley that lay before them. He had said this was a favorable place and had meant it. It was easily defended, provided for all, and now had a strong Alpha at its head. Why leave?

Tonravik knew he meant his words, but she did not agree with him. "The strong survive," she growls, "They were unfit from the start." It was better they leave now, and that she know, now, that they were so weak of mind and frail of spirit, loyal to a woman who had become a ghost and could likely become a ghost again, given the woman had returned so quickly. Tonravik had taken her time until she knew she would not be called away again by her mother for war; it would seem, for the while, that all would be quiet. It did not surprise her. Tonravik wondered if she had new siblings...

She looked to Aklark, tail waving as she stepped toward him. Tonravik, observant herself, noted him sniffing. This she thought nothing of, as she often did the same, inspecting the scents of her pack mates quite frequently. Tonravik had no doubts that without them, Ouroboros Spine would still be strong. Now, there were no weak links.

"The strong survive," he echoed with a nod of aggreement. She was right, if they had left than they were not made of the things that a Tartok pack valued, or expected, and would not have lasted anyway. Their weakness would have made them weaker as a whole if they stayed. Kodiak shook his head. He had not an ounce of care what they did with themselves so long as they did not return here. If they could not uphold their own decision, he would uphold it for them with force.

His Alpha looked to him, and instinctively he cast his gaze to her shoulder, able to watch her face with his peripheral sight while deferring to her status. Behind him his tail waved lightly as well, but he did not carry it, rather it hung naturally. His ears were cupped to catch any of the few words she may have to say, and he was attentive to any movements that would direct him.

Tonravik was distracted by the sound of scree falling in the distance. An ear twitched, and the woman looked in the direction the sound had come from before turning the whole of her body toward it. Tonravik glanced to the brown bear and beckoned him to join her with a gruff bark. They would find the source of the sound and do with it what was necessary. If it was prey they found, they would remember its point of location, and if it was an undesirable, they would rid the territory of it.

His reaction to the distant sound of falling scree was simultaneous to Tonravik - at first an ear twitch, followed by a complete head turn as ears continued to swivel to better capture any further sounds. His Alpha barked at him, asking that he follow, but she needed not to. As soon as the sound was heard the guardian bear felt pulled to investigate, and so it was without hesitance that he followed her, trailing behind her at her flank.