Wolf RPG

Once Kodiak had decided to pursue Tonravik, he struck out and tracked her relentlessly. His unwavering focus was on the single task of finding her, and he paused for nothing but food, water, and sleep, just enough to sustain him and no more. Otherwise his sturdy paws did not stray from the invisible path she had laid, one that he traced with a tracking mastery few if any could match.

He loped tirelessly, detecting particles of her scent on the soil, on blades of grass, on the swaying tips of tree branches, and as the scent became more and more concentrated, more fresh, his pace quickened. He was close, he knew, and he was anxious to connect. His powerful legs devoured the remainder of the distance, until his nose was so accosted by her scent that she may as well been standing on his snout. She had succeeded in her ambition for claim, he learned, for her mark upon the rising slope of a mountain ring told him so.

Kodiak seated himself here, just outside the territory. He had gone as far as he could go, she would have to come to him now. With the wind at his back, carrying his scent up the slope, he knew that it was just a matter of time, and so he did not howl for her. She would come of her own accord, and find him waiting, patiently.

A single note rose with the winds, a call coloring the air of the day. It was both a warning to the wolf that lingered so close to their lands and a notification to any Spine wolves in the vicinity. With the issues that they had been having recently with trespassers, the silver coated hound would take no chances and make no mistakes. She took the job of Warden, of protector seriously, and woe to those that tested her on it. The wolf that hung in the outer edges of their land did not push that ferocity, but it bubbled and boiled under her skin and fur and flesh, always there, always ready to come out.

Large paws carried her across the borders, moving to meet the multicolored canine, gold eyes narrowed in some emotion. Her tail rose with her head, all senses pinpointing him and focusing. A low, warning growl, an unspoken threat though he had still had a good breadth of distance before Kroc would have attacked him for being too close. This one obviously had some amount of intelligence. 

She remained mostly on their land, her stance dominant but prepared for action as her voice carried, low and rough. "What do you want?" 

Tonravik had heard Kroc, and moved stiffly in her subordinates direction. Her long-legged strides enabled her quick arrival to the scene, but a familiar scent wafted toward her nose long before she could be seen. Kodiak. A survivor, by all means. A wolf who had piqued the interest of a great leader as a mere cub. That in itself piqued Tonravik's curiosity; there were many wolves who, in the conception of their branch, had been unable to bear cubs. Siku had stressed the woman of Tartok beneath her lead so much that it was a miracle to even the women when their time had come. Kodiak's mother years ago had been a victim of it; but, fortunately for Kodiak, it meant the leaders could afford his survival.

Kroc spoke, and Tonravik knew already the answer but did not speak it. She looked over the brown bear, and paused, looking at him now and waiting for his deference; had he come with news, or had he come to join her?

His ear's flicked to the howl, and no recognition dawned. This was not a wolf he knew, not the wolf he was looking for, and indeed it was a silvery female that came to him first, not the black pelt of the woman he sought. Kodiak watched her approach, his scrutinizing gaze making detailed notes of her features, her posture, and his nose breathed her scent and cataloged it. Her warning growl was noted as well, and he dipped his head to some degree, acknowledging her as someone who had the right to defend these borders. But he otherwise remained as he was, that was until he saw the powerful shadow he was seeking, moving toward them.

Kodiak stood, his fiery eyes shifting from the subordinate to the Alpha, and a small grin formed on his lips. He bowed his head generously then, the tip of his tail grazing his inner ankle. When the first female gruffly questioned him, not you was on his tongue, but "Tonravik," was spoken, calmly, firmly. His task was not yet complete, and so the brown bear was not receptive to dealing with anyone but her. He lifted his head but his respectfully averted gaze took hold on the dark female's shoulder.

"We can, we will," he spoke, flashing a more broad grin as he, in a way, acknowledged her success here. The entire story he'd like to hear sometime. "I've come to join."

His head lowered, something that was not lost on Kroc. Her growling abated, though she was ready to issue another warning should it be necessary. Tonravik's approach brought further respect from the male and Kroc, while she did not lower her defenses, nodded to acknowledge who he sought. Had the dark woman not already been so close, he would have been questioned and challenged further but now was not the proper time. 

The words from his mouth brought a sense of recognition from the pale wolf, a slight sway of her tail displaying such. This was a fellow wolf of Tartok and would be unlike the spineless brats that had run off with the former alpha of these lands. Her gaze did not move from him, however, still unwilling to take the chance until he was officially within their ranks. 

Tonravik heard her name, and heard his words, and was fast on the move toward him, attempting to begin invading his personal space with her snout, sniffing all the foreign scents upon his fur to see where he had been. We can, we will. "We can, we will," she echoed gruffly, the words of home. This, now, was home, and so were the wolves. She circled him, tail waving.

That he was here was a good thing. He was welcome, and as he spoke his intent, she invited him past the borders by trotting toward them. Tonravik was not much of a story-teller, but would tell him what he asked as best he could. She looked to Kroc, summoning her toward her with a chuff and looking to Kodiak. He was packmate, now; there was no bond so important as the ones they would forge together. 

He was aware that the pale female did not permit her stare to break from him, but his attention was on Tonravik, and as she came near, Kodiak did not move. Her presence was not just tolerated, it was welcomed, and he would allow her as full an inspection as she wished. His gaze followed with her as she breathed the scents upon his fur and circled him, repeating his words. When she left him to cross the borders, inviting him without words, he followed, and satisfaction burned within him. Now his task was complete, as he took a place at his dark Alpha's flank. He would stand at her shoulder, but for now she would lead him.

The brown bear's eyes flicked to the other female when Tonravik chuffed to her, and then she looked to him, but Kodiak would not meet her gaze, which instead would wander as they walked. He would take in every feature of the terrain of his new territory, mapping it. "Did you take this?" he asked, more seeking confirmation than anything, for the borders had many scents upon them, layered and aged in such a way that suggested this spine was not a new claim.

Tonravik echoed his words and accepted him. Another sway of her tail said that with that, she accepted him as well, knowing he would come into the fold as easy as anyone one else. The sound drew her attention, gold eyes switching to the dark Alpha for a moment, nodding again to acknowledge what had been done. She moved then, gently bumping Ton's shoulder with her own before going to Kodiak to do the same, a silent and companionable gesture from the female. 

Returning to her patrol, Kroc made no effort to exchange names with him then. They would undoubtedly meet again and then, they'd see what would happen. 

Kroc exits!

 

His query was met with a nod and a savage grin. "Easily," she rumbles, and looks to Kroc, "With her, and another." Tonravik watched Kroc go her own way without disappointment, glad to see the woman resume her duties. Lallygagging was not something she condoned; Kroc was not one to do such a thing. So she looks to the bear of a wolf, who was as large as she, and an ear twitches. 

With him and her wolves, she would keep this place. "Trespassers are killed if caught," she informs, knowing he knew this well already, but informing him that although this was not Tartok then and now, it still was their way, "Outsiders are never permitted." No tours, no visitors; what was the point? The Spine would keep to themselves, unless they sought expansion. For now, she was comfortable here. Tonravik then shifted forward, to bring him deeper into the territory to show him what she knew of this place so far. 

Kodiak turned into the silvery female when she came to his side to bump his shoulder, both accepting the gesture and returning it by leaning into it. Like her, he knew there would be times for names later. If she was any bit a Tartok wolf, she likely felt the same as he: that you knew a wolf first by their scent, by the actions, and then their name.

His gaze was stolen back to Tonravik when she spoke, another grin etching on his face. It was more satisfying to take something, than to merely piss a line around a swath of land no one had yet bothered with. It endeared him to his Alpha all the more, even if she had conquered without much fuss. A victory was a victory.

She relayed to him two of the most staunch Tartok rules, and he nodded to show his understanding and agreement. Kodiak had been raised under these rules, knew them well and was accustomed to upholding them. It pleased him to know that she was running the pack here as he would expect and prefer. He followed her into the heart of the territory, continuing his shrewd mapping of what he saw, deeply satisfied that he had been successful in his first task.

Deeper they went, and she would inform him there would be much to discover still about this place. She would lead him first to the lake, which they were nearby; this was the one place she knew quite well. Of course, there were corners she had yet to uncover and even still, Tonravik had not found the place the once-leader had gone to to sweep her wolves away. But she would find it, and the area would be a blind spot no longer.

Together, the pack would uncover the gems the Spine would offer them; she was eager to find them, to know these lands as well as she knew her home at Seahawk and later, far North. For now she would show him what she knew.