Wolf RPG

Smoky black paws thrummed gently on the ground as the Spine wolf prowled along the borders like a panther. Velvety ears lifted from his head, listening intently, blue eyes that spoke of the ocean was narrowed, scanning his surroundings keenly. Almost like a falcon looking for prey, and he was looking for prey, just a different kind. He remembered what the black bear told him, to kill all wolves who came too close to the borders, looking for death. There would be no hesitation from him if a wolf from the outside came too close, he would prove himself.

Spotting a tree nearby, the ebony whale stalked forward, rose onto hind legs and scraped his claws upon the bark. Once he fell back onto four paws, he lifted a hind leg and pissed at the foot of the tree just for good measure. When the bastard crept by the borders looking for strength and acceptance, the borders were well marked, identifiable by the strong stench. Now, they were even stronger and no wolf should use the excuse of not being able to smell the markers.

It was time they actually used their nose and stayed far away, stayed well back away from Ouroboros Spine. No one would come near the borders today, unless they wished for a gruesome, bloody death and the cool embrace that Pluto would give them.

Zhavvi hadn't been close to the OS borders on purpose. She just channeled Kero's scent through her brain and started to follow it. She liked the male for some weird reason and the girl was wondering why he hadn't visited her yet. It had been quite a long time ago since she saw the male. The light female just made her way to the OS region. She didn't understand pack borders, not really. Because they were nomads they just protected the herd but she did know about these local wolves that protected their land for some reason. Once the land started to smell more and more of Kero and other wolves she stopped, because the scent was so strong.

It seemed this pack really didn't want anyone on their turf. Zhavvi was at the borders edge but since the borders didn't mean anything to her Zhavvi just crossed it without further hesitation. Her nose to the ground and her ears focussed on any nearing wolves. She was looking for Kero after all. She let out a howl for him, not even knowing that he had a mate now and was the alpha of OS. For her those titles didn't mean anything.

The swarthy whale kicked some grass with his paws, rubbing his scent onto the ground, marking the land of the Spine as theirs. He remained as alert as ever, and he would continue so until his patrol was over. It was cloudy that day, though shards of sunlight still managed to reach down onto the earth. There was a light breeze blowing, it ruffled the Roman's smoky black fur and brought an unfamiliar scent of an outsider wolf towards him.

Without hesitation, the panther charged forward, hackles bristling along the strong curve of his spine as he ran, ears flattened against his skull and black lips were peeled back to reveal gleaming alabaster fangs. He did not stop to register the howl that called for his leader, she had crossed the borders, she was a trespasser, her call for Kerosene meant nothing to him. And he was sure the golden male would agree, no one would know an inch of their land so long as they inhabited it.

She came into sight, a stupid girl with no sense whatsoever. He did not stop to utter any warning, he charged straight on, a ferocious sight. She would receive no mercy whatsoever. No one crossed into their territory without consequences. Arverk aimed to kill, attempting to sink his fangs into her throat, to end her life and present her body to Tonravik and Kerosene.

Zhavvi wasn't entirely stupid she knew that those weird natives didn't want her trespassing but she was a princess, someone of status. Those commoners would need to make room for her. Plus she knew Kero liked her, which she so naively believed. The young girl's ears caught the tramping of the whale soon enough, knowing she was about to be attacked. She looked him straight in the eye as he charged at her. The light build female would jump away once he couldn't break anymore. Zhavvi successfully did jump away from any type of harm. She just laughed really before she got into a more professional sparring position.

Zhavvi had a wicked grin on her face. Now she wished she would have put Nightshade on her claws, a cut on his shoulder would have poisoned him badly. She should have thought of that sooner. Her next victim wouldn't be so lucky. She would be the princess of poisons. Oh yes, that sounded how she wanted to be called. Maybe Queen would be nicer. The slender girl charged forward with her quick speed. She bared her sharp teeth and before she would attack his front paws she made a dodge to the side, so she could latch her teeth into his belly, hopefully.

She was no princess to the swarthy Roman, only a stupid, naive barbarian worthy only of death and being a slave to their people. She was scum, filth, anything but a princess. And she was going to die, right now, or at least get severely injured. When he charged at her, the barbarian looked him straight in the eye, issuing an unspoken challenge. And the bastard was never one to back out of challenges. She managed to dodge his charge, halting immediately, he turned to look at her. A low guttural growl escaped his throat, ears flattened firmly against his skull, his blue eye normally as calm as the ocean were churning with fury.

The barbarian scum bared her teeth at him and attempted to attack his underbelly, the Roman easily sidestepped and without pausing, attempted to sink his teeth into the back of her head, through fur and skin, into flesh and blood. If he attack worked, he aimed to rip the fur out too, to give her a good scar and to forever remember her mistake in crossing the borders, if she didn't die for it first.

Zhavvi didn't reach the male's belly since he had already grabbed her by the back of her head. Zhavvi let out a loud yelp as she felt the fur be removed from her neck. Pain shot through her body. But Zhavvi didn't let herself be hit out of the field that quickly. She freed herself while her neck was bleeding and knew she would need to attack quickly. Not inch back and attack, no once she ripped herself free since instantly went for her intended spot. 

Zhavvi grunted lunged at his side, just where his ribcage ended, knowing it would be all soft tissue afterwards. She took a large bite out of it, wanting to give the male a more permanent injury too, and with that she hoped to have his stomach/side get heavily affected. 

The howl for her mate had been heard miles away by a strangers voice. The leader had not been with Iqniq at the time, caching at checking out their stores and afterward, tracking the movement of the moose herd... but when he was called, by principle so was she. Not because she was his mate, but because she was a leader herself. The wolf would chase the caller off some, away from the Spine. They had no business here, especially in calling for Iqniq, regardless of who they were.

She heard the din of battle, snarls savage and in earnest. The scent was revoltingly familiar. Tonravik loosed a howl herself, alerting her wolves to be on guard and on watch, to get near the borders. She herself could handle this alongside Arverk. Iqniq she knew would come. He had been called as it was. But perhaps this was their war assault; the leader treated it as such in having her wolves go check the borders.

At last they were in sight. Ground-eating strides devoured the land inch by inch until she, too, was among the chaos. From a distance, she could see Zhavvi's intent. It was hard to get in between, and so she surged past the duo to reach at Zhavvi's heel while she attacked her subordinate, to harass her and distract her from her attack.

When it mattered most? These mountains were fucking ginormous. He'd heard the call from a freaking mountain top which meant traveling down hill at a precarious speed was somewhat of a time consuming chore if only because he had to somewhat watch his step so he didn't end up rolling down the slope. As amusing as that mental image was in his head, he wasn't having any of it. Alas. He'd been summoned. But a voice with a foreign lit to it. Damn.

He kept moving. Fast. As soon as the ground became more level he picked up the pace into a run. Tonravik howled, alerting the rest of the pack to be on the ready. Shit. That meant he was already late to the party. Curses.

It was hard to tell exactly what was happening here from the looks of the fray. A tawny wolf was devoured behind dark furs as Arverk and Tonravik continued their assault. There was little room for him to jump into the fray, but he positioned himself appropriately and went for the wolf's shoulder. Zhavvi. This close he could scent her, recognize her. His teeth snapped for that shoulder all the same and only when his jaws loosened from her fur did he utter a word he knew she'd know if only because he'd taught it to her. "Run." He snarled.

Zhavvi didn't expect others to come rushing. She just wanted a lazy evening with Kero just like before! It was so nice to just relax and hang out with him. She actually.... liked him. The slender girl couldn't focus much because she had two wolves now. A black female bit in her heels. Soon the russet wolf she had been looking for was there. Oh great! Not that she would need saving.. of course. Though, it would be nice if he would help her. The vain princess didn't expect him to bit her too. A yelp came from her, more shocked than that it was painful. She jumped back when he told her to run. She knew that word. He taught her that word.

For once there wasn't a smirk or cunning smile on her face. Now the young girl looked actually upset. Her green eyes traveled to the black female. She scented of him in a way that made her sick. Instantly she felt used and betrayed. These Locals could NEVER be trusted. Her expression went from hurt to murderous towards Kero. It was clear that she knew Kero better than the other's which she didn't pay any attention too, yet she did know where they were located. Zhavvi was a quick runner. Kero couldn't keep up with her. Zhavvi's neck was still bleeding and her shoulder and heel were aching too. She disliked to run away from a fight but even she knew that she could never win this. Kero obviously liked someone else better than her. No one liked anyone better than her. Zhavvi knew she was perfect, and she was a princess too.

They would all pay, especially Kero. Zhavvi would make sure that it was her face he would see last before his eyes closed forever. Same for that black female of his. All this thought process went through the female within seconds. She made up her mind and turned around to sped away at the fastest she could run. It was fast, yet, not as fast as she was used to since she was injured. It wasn't that Zhavvi would ever cry but it did sting to know that the russet male wasn't as single as he let her believe.

Zhavvi Flees.

Zhavvi lunged at his flank, Arverk attempted to sidestep but it was too late, her sharp fangs sank through smoky black fur and into flesh. However, he had managed to move sideways quickly, so while the injury was rather deep and serious, it was not fatal. There would be a scar, the Roman was sure of it, but that was fine. He would recover, like he had so many times before, he would live to fight another day.

Pain shot through him, but he ignored it and simply snarled at her, uttering a bold guttural growl as he stalked forward once more. By then, Tonravik had arrived and snapped at the barbarian trespasser's heel, attempting to distract the plains wolf from him. Lunging forward, the whale delivered a series of bites and strikes, whether or not they landed, he did not know or cared. Iqniq arrived to the fight too, aiming a bite at the girl's shoulder and snarling for her to run.

The plains barbarian girl did the wisest thing she could've done, turning and fleeing the scene of her crime, running away like a coward. But then, barbarians always valued their lives more than their honor. When she ran, Arverk made to follow but she was quick so his bites merely clicked air rather than her heels, not that it mattered anyways, he only made it for a couple of meters before halting.

Now that the fight was over, the pain of her bite nearly brought stars to his vision and he saw that the blood was still streaming steadily from the wound. Cursing in latin under his breath, Arverk wondered if there was a healer in the Spine.

Run, her mate had told the woman. But Tonravik did not so much as look at him as she thought to take away that very ability from the other. 

In the seconds it took Zhavvi to withdraw and stare at them in a shell-shocked fashion, Tonravik launched her next assault. This time she moved to damage rather than distract, and her fangs sought true purchase upon the hind leg, to grab and to hold, or even to rake her fangs across it. Whether or not her fangs hit anything at all she did not know, but she did know for certain that she held nothing at this point in her jaws, and the other was fleeing. Tonravik was after her, continuing her chase until the bitch was well out of sight. When she was sure Zhavvi was gone, Tonravik inhaled the blood that had dripped from her in her leaving. The word run echoed in her head.

Her muzzle wrinkled and she snorted heavily, before turning back to inspect Arverk, who had fought well to keep her from coming into their home any more than she had. Her tail was high as she drew to the dark one, her eyes then searching for Iqniq. He would know what to do with the wounds. She moved to Arverk and sniffed at his face. "You have fought well." And, in this moment, unable to tolerate the presence of her mate for his sound advice to the plains wolf instead of simply going for her throat, she gave the flame a long, hard look.

She would find him after this. But for now, Tonravik went to depart.

He was going to get in trouble for this one. He knew. There were things he'd done in his travels to coax this sort of behavior, but he'd never imagined this girl to be as dull so as to call for him in his own lands. Or that she'd even find him there. He'd gone through measures to erase the spine from his flesh before his every encounter with her. He was uncertain as to how she'd found him here, but no mistake, he would not allow his previous associations with her to threaten the sanctuary of his pack.

The girl ran and Tonravik chased. Hard. Kero moved to follow, but when their newest wolf paused and cursed, his own step halted. Zhavvi was on her way out and would stay that way, but he was not about to let a wound let her take one of their own wolves with her. Least of all, through injury.

Kero moved, returning to Arverk to inspect the wound. Deep and severe, but treatable. While he'd not taken to healing as an official skill it was still within his realm of talents. "Lay down with that side up. I'll be back." He turned, venturing off to gather a few supplies he'd stored for occasions such as these.

Upon his return, Tonravik was in the area. He caught her words of praise before she turned her eyes towards him, staring long and hard in his direction. They'd speak of this later. He'd set aside time for it and accept blame where blame was due, but for now they both knew their wolf's health was a primary concern. Tonravik departed. Kero approached.

"Will you allow me to tend it?" He asked, setting aside the supplies he'd gathered. He wanted consent before he did anything. It was this one's body. He could decide how it was healed, either naturally or with the added benefits of help.

The russet male, Iqniq, moved towards him to inspect the wound on his flank. It was deep and rather severe but it wasn't fatal and it was treatable. Arverk blinked at the Alpha Male when he was told to lie down with his wounded side up and decided that he would lie down when the golden male returned from getting whatever supplies he needed. He didn't like to lie down if he could help it, it made him feel vulnerable, exposed, and it wasn't a good feeling.

After Iqniq went to get his supplies, Tonravik trotted towards him and sniffed his face, gracing him with a rare compliment. At least he thought it was rare, since the dark bear of a wolf didn't seem like the kind of wolf to throw out random compliments at everyone just because she was in the mood to. She seemed like the type to give out compliments when the receivers were worthy of them, so Arverk was secretly rather proud and honored.

Iqniq approached him and Arverk obediently sank down onto his uninjured side, his wounded one facing the sky. The Alpha male asked him if he would allow him to tend to it, the swarthy whale's blue gaze drifted over to the supplies before nodding. He didn't mind, he didn't care, he didn't give a goddamned fuck. "Yeah, sure."

He set his things aside and waited for the wolf to give consent. With that granted, Kerosene took a better look at the wound. First with his eyes, then with his tongue. He worked quickly and efficiently, cleaning the lingering blood from the area so he could better see and feel the torn skin. Deep and severe, but not fatal. That meant bloody and a longer recovery time, but he'd live and have a nice scar to show for it so long as he kept limber and maintained his mobility.

Kero picked up an herb and chewed on it, grinding it into a nice salve before he packed it into the wound. He let it sit there, waiting for the edges of his poultice to dry before moving onto the next step. He worked quickly, but efficiently. And while he had the wolf here?

"You fought well," he said, echoing Tonravik's earlier statement. "But stupid." Mm. He'd noticed a few flaws that were no doubt set backs to this wolf's mentality of doing things alone. "You are pack now. We defend the pack as a pack. The next time a wolf comes anywhere near our borders you howl. Do not engage them alone." If the rogue wolf had been any stronger and killed him, she could have moved further into the packlands and not a single wolf would be none the wiser to the situation. Communication was key and while he'd done well in battle, he'd failed in acting like pack.

When this wolf had joined, he'd said he'd learn how to act like pack. His first challenge and it seemed he'd already forgotten his promise.

Arverk had had worse injuries in his life, so when Iqniq cleaned the wound with his tongue and examined the wound, he easily stopped himself from crying out or wincing in pain. Back in Palatine Plains, these reactions were taken as a weakness and weaknesses were not tolerated, they got a good punishment whenever they uttered a sound that spoke of weakness. One of the crueler aspects of Rome, but it served him well now, all of the lessons hammered into his head had a reason behind it, and however much pain it had been to learn them before was worth it now.

Arverk's blue gaze usually observed the Alpha Male tending to his wound, but occasionally it would drift off and look into the horizon. While he did not like speaking aloud, he daydreamed often and often pondered over the complicated aspects of life, thinking about the future and what he would be doing then. Thinking about his former family and how they were doing in the Plains now. He knew his past didn't matter the moment he became a Spine wolf, but these bonds did not fall away so easily, especially if you suffered and fought beside those you used to call family.

The swarthy whale snapped back to attention when Iqniq spoke, echoing Tonravik's earlier statement, but quickly informed him of his stupidity too. Arverk did not speak, simply nodded his head briefly, indicating he had heard what the Alpha Male had said. "I was blinded by the desire to get the trespasser away from our land and therefore have forgotten to howl," the whale said simply in his lightly accented tone. "For that, I have paid. But I also knew the trespasser's howl for you would not be ignored." In a way, Zhavvi had helped him call for the pack.

Of all wolves in the Spine, he knew how incredibly difficult it was to shake old habits. He'd made a few mistakes himself upon joining. Adjusting from one way of life to another was not always the easiest or straightest path, but it could be done with time, practice, and the willingness to correct any mistakes that were made. If this wolf could learn, he would be useful, but in order to do that, he'd have to fully embrace this newness of life and learn to let the old traditions go.

He worked upon the wolf, taking the necessary steps to ensure this wound would heal properly and swiftly. It was clean. The blood was slowing. If he was careful to take care of himself and keep off that leg for a while he'd be back to a hundred percent in no time. If, that was, he took care of himself in the right way. Reopening wounds would only increase the initial damage. Far better to take it easy than to let stubbornness spoil a future.

He listened as the wolf spoke. All were valid reasons, however that was not the way things happened here. "Her actions did not matter." Howl or not howl, not every trespasser would make themselves so obvious. In this instance, she had, but neither he nor Tonravik had known the female was engaged until they arrived at the scene. "Howl. Always howl. Howl if you see them. Howl before you engage. The Spine is a unit. We fight as one." It was their way.

"These scars?" He tapped a paw to the wolf's flank as he checked on the salve. "They may be marks of bravery and survival, but they are first earned through a slip in defense." Not every wolf was a slippery sparrer, nor was every wolf capable of dodging every blow. But those blows that hit and sunk deep? Those were errors. "When we fight together we guard each other's flanks. Our scars are fewer." More eyes. More bodies. Less openings.

And if that wasn't enough? "Howl so that we can all protect our home together." This place did not belong to one, but to many. They all deserved a chance to fight for what they held dear. "It is our home. Multiple. The task is not for one wolf alone." He'd repeated the issue several times, but he wanted to be clear. If one reason did not sway him, perhaps another would resonate more true.

All the same, he patched the wolf up and was done here. Kerosene rose to his feet and gestured for the other wolf to try the same. "I'm sure you know this, but I have to repeat it anyways. Keep off that leg for a few days. Stay hydrated. Rest. There is plenty of food in the caches scattered around the Spine. Try not to over exert yourself."

He stepped away, taking a few paces before his ears fell as he mentally berated himself. Turning, he glanced over his shoulder and spoke once more. "You still fought well." He offered the wolf a nod before continuing on his way. Arverk would be fine. He knew how to take care of himself.

-Kero exits-

He'd spent too much time as a lone wolf and therefore it was much harder than normal for him to shake off old habits and adapt to this environment once more. But he was a versatile creature, and with time, he would adapt and adjust like he had some many times before, it would simply take some more time than usual. As long as Arverk was willing to let go of old traditions and embrace the life he had chosen for himself, he would shift and change until he was one of them, he would adapt.

Arverk listened attentively as Iqniq spoke, absorbing everything the russet leader was telling him. He knew he had made a mistake, but surely the golden male had made his own share of them either, the main point was to never make the same mistake ever again. The whale was a Roman, and Romans never forgot, not even bastard Romans.

The whale nodded, indicating he had heard all Iqniq had said to him and would listen to the healer's orders. He would feel useless for sometime, and mentally berated himself for making such a mistake, but the scar would always be there to remind him to never make the same one ever again. He supposed the plains wolf had a use after all.

A brief smile played at the Roman's lips at Iqniq's compliment before vanishing as he got up gingerly and slowly made his way to the nearest cache.