Wolf RPG

His teeth closed on a squirrel that did not have a chance to squeal before its skull was crushed and its body hung limp in his mouth. It was barely a snack and would not keep him long. Fortunately, he had been in the right place at the right time and thus spent little energy catching it. He scooped the rodent up as it fled past him, so focused on escaping the pursuit of another squirrel it had failed to notice the predator standing like a statue in the brush.

It disappeared down his throat in a matter of two bites. If only he had a stash of fermented fruits and berries to chase it with. When he was stationary he was seldom far from his next fix, but on the move it was a much rarer indulgence. Big game, hooch, these were among the things he missed about pack life, and among the things that made the idea of settling down more tolerable. One way or the other, he knew he was best to find residence somewhere before winter drifted back in. For now he had time, but he was well aware of how fast it could pass.

Rhett walked, and as he passed a maple he noticed a series of cuts in its bark, appearing to have been left by the claws of a bear. Clear sap oozed from its wound, and he paused to lick at the sweet liquid.

 Oliver had settled into life at Redtail Rise, but not without a bit of difficulty. Both Reek and Arion had given him a hard time at first. Reek had sent him off on a fool's errand to gather some stinging plants that he didn't even have any use for, and Arion, well, he was just downright mean to him, calling him pathetic and lazy (though he could admit the labels were accurate). He was yet unsure of how the Alpha, Saena, felt about him, but he could guess that she didn't think very highly of him either. What could a beautiful, ambitious girl like her see in a slouch like him?

 Oliver tried to quiet his negative thoughts about himself and channel his energy into something more productive, so he'd come down to the maplewood to search for plants he could bring back to add to his own cache of healing supplies. Thanks to Reek, he had an abundance of nettle leaves, though that plant had limited uses. As far as he knew, no one in the Rise suffered from arthritis. He was hoping he could find a white willow tree growing here amongst the maples. The bark of this particular tree was an effective pain killer, so it would eventually come in very handy.

 As he walked, he caught a whiff of something sweet and started to mindlessly follow the delicious aroma to it's source. And that was how he came upon Rhett, lapping up the sap oozing from the bark of a maple tree. Oliver's mouth started to water, and he licked his chops hungrily. "Hey, can I have some too?" he asked, hoping the loner was in the mood to share.

He swivelled an ear to the sound of paws moving across the forest floor, but he was not alarmed and took a few more laps of the saccharine sap before he turned his head to watch as a young male approached him. The boy looked hungry, and asked if Rhett would be willing to share. For a moment, the middle-aged man regarded him silence, casting his gaze to each side at the multitudes of maples around them. Why this wolf felt he needed to partake of the same tree as Rhett was beyond him, for though the claw marks had made it easier it was no difficult task to bite into the bark and start your own tap. But, the frosted wolf had had enough, and stepped aside with a slight shrug. "Go ahead." Perhaps it was a treat this one had never been fortunate enough to try before now.

He had been half-expecting the older male to run him off, so when he instead stepped aside so Oliver could sample the tree sap Oliver's yellow eyes lit up with glee. "Sweet," he said cheerfully as he swiped his tongue across the trunk, lapping up the sweet liquid with gusto. Oliver, a big kid at heart, had quite a sweet tooth and maple sap was one of his favorite indulgences. He found it a pain to obtain on his own, however. After he'd consumed every drop, he let out of moan of satisfaction. "Oh that's good stuff," he said, licking the remains of his snack from his lips.

He nodded appreciatively at the other wolf. "Thanks, man." he said, then suddenly remembered he'd neglected to properly introduce himself yet again. "I'm Oliver by the way, nice to meet you."

This one was easy to please, it seemed. He was cheerful as he took his turn at the tree, moaning about how good it was when he had thoroughly licked it. Rhett snorted. The corners of his mouth lifted in amusement. "Been a while has it?" he joked. It was unknown to him if the younger male would catch his drift, but either way. Hopefully the tree had it enjoyed it as much as he did.

"Rhett," he returned and tipped his muzzle. "What can you tell me about the area, Oliver?" Tip for tap. He had shared his tree, perhaps this one could share with him some information about this place.

 Oliver smiled knowingly at Rhett's joke. "Yeah, and it was great," he returned. Despite his youthful appearance, Oliver had reached sexual maturity and his mind was often occupied with the thoughts and fantasies typical in males his age. He had yet to so much as touch a girl, however.

 Rhett moved on to a new subject, one with which Oliver was only slightly more familiar. "Well, I'm pretty new to the place myself so I can't tell you much," he admitted. "One thing I can tell you is the packs around here are very unfriendly toward strangers, so just watch your step out here."

He struck out. The young male was not a long term resident and offered nothing that any wolf with a teaspoon of sense would not already know. Most packs did not welcome strangers with open arms. Even potential recruits were traditionally received with intense scrutiny, and attacked if they did not comply with the old wolf laws of respect. Of course, it was a different matter, though, if pack wolves were running around neutral territories causing a stir among the loners that were keeping to themselves. He would keep the boy's words in mind, just in case.

"Fair enough," he said. "Which one is yours?"

"I'm from Redtail Rise," he answered. Suddenly an idea occurred to him and his eyes lit up excitedly. "Are you looking for a pack? The Rise is looking for new members," he said. As far as he knew, Saena, Reek, Arion and himself made up the whole of the pack's roster. How pleased Saena would be, if he brought a new member instead of a bunch of plants home with him today.

Plus, Reek and Arion would have someone new to pick on, getting Oliver off the hook.

Redtail Rise. He noted the name and stored in somewhere in his skull. He was not ready to accept any offers to join a pack, but it was good to know there was in the area that had room available. "I'll keep it in mind," he answered. "I'm just scouting around right now." It was likely going to take the right wolf and the right offer to convince him to at least attempt settling down, and even then the permanence of his stay was questionable. If he didn't feel like it was a fit, he would move on. "But, you can tell me what the pack's like, if you want."

 Oliver nodded. "Well, if you do decide you want to join, I can put in a good word for ya," he offered. True, Oliver had just met the guy, but he'd been willing to share food so that made Rhett good in his eyes. "I just joined not long ago, so they call me the 'newbie.'" he said. He hoped the nickname wouldn't stick. While he was sure everyone found it amusing he didn't want to be the butt of all jokes for the rest of his life.

 "Our pack is small, just starting out, but we're a tough bunch," he said. "But it's a bit of a sausage fest up there, if you know what I mean."

 

He dipped his muzzle in thanks to the male's offer, however curious it was that he could put in a good word for someone he only just met and knew nothing about. He was friendly, trusting, and he was giving Rhett the benefit of the doubt. He could not be faulted for it, he was clearly a good wolf. But the frosted male had long ago shed his willingness to trust so easily, and had since taken a more cynical (or realistic as he would see it) outlook on things.

Rhett favored the idea of a small, fledgling pack, but unfortunately, that the pack was a sausage fest, while not a deal breaker, was none too enticing. He sniffed. "That's a drag," he commented. Like any other man, he liked his women. It only took one, though. "Who leads?"

"Saena's the Alpha," he answered. Oliver felt a slight flutter in his chest as he thought of his beautiful red-tipped Alpha. He'd felt an attraction to her to moment he'd laid eyes on her the day he showed up at her borders, and he was growing to admire her for her ambition as well as her looks. "She's younger than me, but she left home and founded this pack all on her own. Even named it too." 

"I see," Rhett said. So the pack was lead by a young alpha, very young if she was younger than this male who was still wet behind the ears himself. While it was commendable that a young wolf rise to leadership and found their own pack, the frosted male was considerably harder to impress or awe. Now if she was a good leader, that may do the trick.

"Sounds like you are a bit smitten," he commented, taking a cue from the boy's phrasing and the nature of the details he shared.

Oliver snorted loudly. "What? No!" he said with a nervous laugh, shaking his head in denial. "I mean, Saena's cool and all but she's, I dunno..." Oliver thought about how to finish his sentence. The words she's too good for me immediately sprang to mind. "She's not my type," he explained to Rhett. 'More like, I don't have a chance...' he admitted to himself.

He was smitten. Rhett tilted his muzzle down. He saw through the excuses, and his expression made it clear that he did. "Uh huh." Then he levelled his muzzle again, and silently stared at the younger male at length, before offering another comment. "Perhaps I will join you guys then." Rhett quartered away from the other wolf, taking several steps. "And take her for myself." He glanced back at Oliver, over his shoulder. Though he was intentionally fishing for a response he was not entirely joking.

 
 Oliver could see that Rhett was not convinced, but he hoped he'd at least drop the subject. The timid young wolf preferred to avoid topics that made him uncomfortable, and there was nothing that made him squirm more than talking about girls. Yet when Rhett started talking about going after Saena himself, the thought of seeing her with someone else made him feel strangely jealous, even a bit sad.

 Oliver, trying to appear nonchalant, shrugged at him, but couldn't feign indifference for long. The scruffy wolf let out a breathy sigh. "Okay fine, you got me," he blurted out, flustered. "I really like her, I mean how could you not? She's pretty and smart and just plain awesome." He hadn't known the Alpha female very long, and an older more mature wolf would probably tell him it was just an infatuation. And he would have ignored them, of course. Oliver had only had a few crushes in his life, and when he fell for someone, he fell hard. "But I don't have a chance, she's waaaayyy too good for me."

Aha, there it was: the admission. It was followed by a manner of thinking common to the young and inexperienced, though this was not always the case. One corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile directed at the boy, then he turned his head. "Keep thinking like that and you'll be right about not having a chance." He said as he walked off. Confidence was a winner of hearts. Oliver would have to learn this. No one is 'too good' for another; that was the boy's insecurity talking. If he had anything to say about Rhett's share of wisdom, it fell on ears that had already turned their attention elsewhere. He was done here, and soon was out of sight.

Oliver was quiet as he considered the older wolf's wisdom. He knew there was a lot of truth in Rhett's words, that his own lack of confidence would hold him back from many things, but how could he ever change the way he thought about himself? Could Rhett help him with this stuff?

"Wait!" Oliver called out to Rhett at last, but the loner either didn't hear him or ignored him and just kept walking, never looking back. Rhett disappeared into the wilderness, leaving Oliver to ponder his parting words alone.