+- Wolf RPG (https://wolf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: In Character: Roleplaying (https://wolf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Archives (https://wolf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11)
+--- Thread: Otter Creek south (/showthread.php?tid=1923)
south - Bazi - April 21, 2014
Bazi is feeling a little bit vulnerable after her first semi-romantic experience - this is for any wolf who wants to talk her through it whilst also keeping an eye on the herds in the south. :D Bazi will want a closer look to get a good count.
Otter Creek was as far away as Bazi could hope to get from pack politics, jealously guarded borders, and - hopefully - other wolves. The Vale was far to the north, and Silvertip Mountain even further; there was no reason for anyone to venture to the tip of the southern-most tendril of the waterway. Except Bazi, who sat and watched the water trickle into nothing.
Escaping the previous day under the pretense of scouting (and lying to Ferdie about how far she was going), Bazi had sheltered in the mountains and descended into the flatlands the following morning. There were no mysterious strangers here. No secret midnight rendezvous, no run-away heartbeats, and no unexpected rush of new and wildly foreign feelings. The Creek Gamma scanned the flat horizon in the south, looking for any sign of nearby herds. If prey was coming in from the south, she wanted to know how the mountain-range would divvy it up.
RE: south - RIP Fox - April 22, 2014
Fox was not quite sure why she headed south. She knew that Swiftcurrent was in good hands with her comrades, and she had a feeling that the coming months would bring them prosperity. Despite the split (or perhaps because of it), Fox felt confident that things would be fine. The wolves of the vale had all but vanished from her thoughts, and Silvertip Mountain was too far away to matter in any immediate sense. In fact, Fox thought that the creek and the mount would rarely interact at all, being so far away from one another. Little did she know, Jinx had it out for Bazi, who had been scouting around that area.
Having skirted the southern mountain that fit snugly against Blackfoot Forest, Fox rounded it and began heading north, back toward the creek. A familiar scent caught her attention, though, and the yearling began to track it down, unsurprised to find Bazi this far away from home. She was the pack's outrider, after all. “Finding anything interesting out this way?” she asked once she was within earshot. She followed this up with a friendly nudge to her Gamma's shoulder.
RE: south - Bazi - April 23, 2014
It surprised her to see Fox so far from the Creek, but she took it as a sign that those that remained within the borders were trusted. Ferdie and Jace were more than capable of looking after things at home, and Bones - being a tough Tortuga lass, after all - was not a lady to be messed with. Njal and Tuwawi were leading a more secluded life of late, doing heaven knows what within the confines of their den. Bazi had passed near it one night, and the wild cacophony of noises had both intrigued and frightened her. She had hunch as to what they were up to, but didn't dare think on it too much. Those were adult topics.
"Not yet," she replied, making a show of squinting into the southern horizon. "I was hoping to catch a glimpse of some herds and see which side of the mountain they would pick. I would pick the Creek side, if I was a grass-eater." The Kintla flatlands were hemmed in on all sides by mountains, forest, ocean, and - most importantly - four wolf packs. "Do we have a lead hunter?" she asked, betting on Njal.
RE: south - RIP Fox - April 23, 2014
Fox had no doubt that the creek would see its fair share of game this summer. The warmer months always brought food (or so she'd been told), and they had nothing to fear. Even with Tuwawi popping out little ones, Fox thought they would be fine. They would be down one wolf for a little while, but the pack's members were strong and resilient to even the worst of tragedies. They had lived through much together, and Fox believed they would continue to prosper.
“Tuwawi is probably our most adept hunter, although Njal is a good one as well. He led a hunt shortly after I arrived in the creek.” Fox was unsure if that was something he wanted to focus on, although it had seemed like it at the time. “Are you asking for the job?” Bazi was a smart one, and Fox liked her a great deal. Whatever sickness had plagued her at the border that day seemed to have disappeared completely, leaving the pristine-white girl fit as a kitten.
RE: south - Bazi - April 24, 2014
Bazi broke her gaze away from the horizon and anchored it to a spot nearby whilst she considered this. Scouting lent itself well to keeping track of game. She already had a good grasp on where the herds were in the south and east, and how many animals made up each one - that kind of strategic knowledge was as important to the continued welfare of the pack as the ability to hunt. The older wolves trumped her there, but there was still time to learn.
Closer to home, the wealth of fish added another dimension to the role. Individuals regularly topped up their reserves from the creek’s bounty, and Bazi was both an accomplished hunter and preserver of fish. Duck Lake was stuffed full of water fowl, and she had seen both Jace and Ferdie carry smaller game around. The pack might benefit from someone coordinating efforts on the various fronts, especially with more mouths to feed.
Yes, she decided in the privacy of her own mind, that’s something I can do.
”Like a gamekeeping coordinator?” she asked, moving her blue-grey eyes to Fox. ”If you would let me prove myself in that role, then yes - yes please, I think I’d be very suited to it.”
Mention of Tuwawi and Njal brought another matter to the forefront of the yearling’s mind - two, if you counted her brief encounter with Tiarnán, but that memory was still raw and confusing. ”How.. when will Tuwawi have her puppies?” she asked, gaze drifting between Fox and the horizon, trying to look casual. The little Gamma was woefully uneducated in matters of breeding and romance, and that fact embarrassed her now that the season was upon them.
RE: south - RIP Fox - April 27, 2014
Bazi certainly had ambition, and Fox kept this observation tucked away. Depending on how ambitious the white wolf got, it could be disastrous for Fox. While she trusted and respected Bazi, she knew that there was always a hunger for more. One could only linger beneath others for so long before they craved it. Jinx was an obvious example of this, although the Kesuk had at least been kind enough to move her followers elsewhere. Fox was unsure what Bazi would do once she reached the breaking point, but perhaps time would show her true colors, if these were not them.
“I am not sure,” replied Fox truthfully, “It takes two moons from the coupling.” Had she known that Bazi was uninformed on the topic, she would have gladly gone into minute detail about how the process worked. It was life, and Fox was unashamed to talk of such things in broad daylight. At the same time, she was unsure when Njal and Tuwawi had gotten down and dirty, so she could not say with certainty when their children would come into this world.
RE: south - Bazi - April 28, 2014
"It takes two moons from the coupling."
Coupling. That was so vague. Bazi wanted to ask more, but didn't know how to phrase the question so as not to seem utterly naive. Fox said no more on the subject of an additional trade, and the outrider took that for approval. Approval was very important to her. Shar-Kali had always approved of Bazi, more than Mari and infinitely more than her unruly namesake. Having a rank and a job in Swiftcurrent Creek made her feel secure, and praise from Fox was reminiscent of her mother's - it lacked that awful, gushy insincerity, and was infrequent enough to be special. She needed that now, whilst she unfurled and grew and hardened. Beyond that - who knew?
"I can't see anything," she said, gaze filtering back to the horizon. "I'll wait it out another night, in case they're just beyond the horizon. Jace and Ferdie are both stationed at home, so the Creek is safe." Obviously Fox knew that, otherwise she wouldn't have left. A short spell of silence followed whilst Bazi gathered courage to return to their original conversation. "..and what about you?" she ventured, "Any particular plans for next year?"
RE: south - RIP Fox - April 28, 2014
Fox's ears tipped forward when Bazi asked for her plans. The yearling leader certainly did have them, even if they were fast and loose plans. “I will have my own children next year,” she replied with an air of certainty. She could not think of any reason why she would lack the ability to do so, and it was her right as a leader. Fox had always been an ambitious wolf, unlike her sister. Even now that she was at the top, she yearned for more. Knowing that she could not create life right here and now made her want it even more so.
Haunter would make a good genetic match, although Fox did not expect him to stick around for that long. It has been his intention upon arrival to leave the creek, and she did not think that she would be able to chain him here for too long. A year was a long time, and considering she could give him no sons now, that was likely too long for him to wait for her. It was a shame, but a fact that Fox knew would not change. She could not simply will her body into some biological anomaly.
“Will your ambition take you away from the creek?” she asked, curious to know if Bazi intended on breaking off as Jinx had done. If not, there was more potential for Bazi among her ranks.
RE: south - Bazi - April 29, 2014
Bazi nodded. Fox was near her own age, and even the most naive wolf knew that sexual maturity did not happen until the second year. She wondered who would father these future pups, but didn't ask - somehow she knew that if Fox wanted pups, she would have pups. One way or another.
Time was clearly wearing away at her innocence, because it didn't take Bazi long to figure out why Fox was asking about the future. She had proved herself to be an asset and would continue to do so - but her ambitions were not like those that had driven Jinx away.
"No. I've committed. And I know that you reap what you sow. I belong to the Creek." If Fox's ability to lead were one day to come into question.. that was a conundrum for another day, and not one that Bazi had ever consciously considered. Belonging mean more to her than leading - for now. "We've got a good thing here," she finished, smiling into the great beyond.
RE: south - RIP Fox - April 29, 2014
Bazi seemed content with the creek, and for that, Fox was grateful. They needed loyal comrades who stuck around through the thick and thin, and she sincerely hoped that Bazi was one of those types. One could never be too sure, for Fox had seen several wolves come and go just in her short time alive that she never would have expected. The only thing she expected now was for everybody to eventually leave. Most had perfectly valid reasons, of course, but that did not make the burn any less painful.
“I think so, too,” she replied after a pause. The creek may have dwindled in numbers, but those who stuck around were some of the most loyal and family-like wolves Fox could ever imagine. To think of any of them leaving left her with a certain sense of anxiety, even as much as she wanted to keep herself emotionally detached from such things. Haunter was the one she worried about the most, although she knew from the very beginning that he would not stick around.
“Have I told you of how I came to lead the creek?” she asked. Fox was one of two remaining founding members of the creek. The other was Njal, who showed no intention of slipping away into the night. Still, it left only two souls alive who had been with Swiftcurrent from the beginning, and Fox was eager to share the story of its past with those who showed promise of sticking to it.
RE: south - Bazi - May 01, 2014
"Have I told you of how I came to lead the creek?"
Bazi turned to look at the little alpha with interest. She had assumed that the Creek belonged to Fox by right of heritage, but that made no sense on further reflection. Fox was barely a year old; too young to inherit an entire pack (by common standards, anyway) unless her family line had shriveled and left the responsibility to its only living heir. But nobody had ever mentioned a pa Perhaps she seized it, or maybe Swiftcurrent Creek was much younger than Bazi realized.
"You haven't - nobody has," she answered, and settled in for a good story.
RE: south - RIP Fox - May 01, 2014
Fox thought it important (for some reason or another) for those who ran with the creek to know of its history. She wanted them to know the story of how it came to be and how it got to where it was. Considering Fox had been with Swiftcurrent since its foundation, it seemed only natural that she would be the one to chronicle its history. When Bazi confessed that she did not know, Fox began to weave the words together.
“Lethe, a wolf that Jinx knew, founded the pack. It was by chance that I ended up in the Teekon Wilds on the night that the claiming howl resounded, otherwise I may have continued traveling.” There was something about being a part of something new that had resonated with Fox, which was why she had stopped that night. “I joined in their claim, and I was welcomed by Lethe. Njal was there, along with Lecter. There were others, but they are long gone now.” Solene was the only one whose name she remembered off-hand.
“Jinx and Ira joined us a few weeks after… but the pack was thrown for a loop when Lethe, for reasons unknown, tossed herself into the creek and let herself drown.” Fox would never understand Lethe's reasons, nor was she sure that she wanted to. There was nothing in particular that had been going on with the creek at that point, for they were still quite new and fresh. “When her body was discovered, I instantly knew that the claim would be mine. Nobody challenged me, perhaps foolishly so, and Swiftcurrent fell into my lap.”
It had felt like Swiftcurrent Creek was handed to her on a silver platter, but even if she had not earned it then, she felt she had earned it now. The wolves, while few, were loyal and close to one another. They had overcome many tragedies in a short amount of time, giving them quite a rocky start, but somehow they had stuck together and come out of it better. Bazi had now witnessed this first-hand with the coyotes at their borders.
RE: south - Bazi - May 02, 2014
Bazi listened with keen interest to the tale of Swiftcurrent's beginnings, nodding the 'of course, of course' nod whenever it was appropriate. It surprised her to hear that the Creek pack was so fresh out of the mold, but she didn't know why; a more established pack would have a higher proportion of relatives - litter-mates and parents at the very least; it only took a couple of year to produce those two tiers. Theirs was a gang of stragglers, but the bonds between them grew stronger every day. Soon, they would be indistinguishable from an organic family.
She assumed 'perhaps foolishly' was a reference to Fox's age. Njal was older and he had a mate - but that didn't predispose him to alphaship in any way. A leader needed natural drive, and Fox had it. To hear that she knew without a shadow of a doubt that the pack would be hears to lead made a shiver of pride run down the length of Bazi's spine. The women outnumbered the men at present, each one strong and passionate in their own way. These were the foundations of a pack that could only go from strength to strength.
"Do you think we will stop adding strangers to our numbers once Tuwawi's pups are grown - and yours come?" she asked, looking into the Creek's future. "Or will it depend on the wolf? I've been looking at candidates of late - lone wolves, one in particular," she meant Galileo, the wise old male with the warm, brown eyes, "But I don't see a need to actively look when we've got Creek-born stock to nurture."
RE: south - RIP Fox - May 04, 2014
“It will depend on many things,” replied Fox, “Our comrades will come and go. I saw it happen back home, and I’ve already seen it happen here. We will bring in new blood when it is necessary.” That wasn't to say that Fox was disappointed in this fact. The creek was currently made up of no wolves who were related by blood, and yet their bond was strong. Sure, Njal and Tuwawi were an item, but that was a different bond than that of mother and son or brother and sister.
“If this one you speak of is capable of holding his own, I see no reason not to try and coerce him into our ranks. There is such a thing as strength in numbers.” In fact, having more adults who were capable would be better for the children. It was those who were sick or weak that Fox did not want among her ranks right now. The children would fall into that role, and there would be room for no others.
RE: south - Bazi - May 05, 2014
"Our comrades will come and go."
Bazi turned away at that to frown - at the general attitude of the land, not the truth as Fox told it. Death would part her from Swiftcurrent Creek, she decided, and even then not without a fight (love, lust, and betrayal - oft-cited reasons - did not figure into her thinking; who left their family for a boy?). This was already her second chance, and probably her last.
"I believe that. In the right numbers, anyway," she agreed, "I will find that loner - his name was Galileo. I liked him, he was older, seemed.. more calm than our own boys; would you meet him if he visited the borders?"
RE: south - RIP Fox - May 06, 2014
“I meet everyone who comes to the borders,” Fox replied with a wry grin. Whether or not it was a friendly meeting was up to the wolf who arrived on her doorstep. Those who acted appropriately were welcomed with open arms, and those who did not were put through trials and tribulations. Bazi had witnessed this first-hand, as her own first appearance at the borders had been quite literally shaky.
“It would do us well to have some older blood among us. Swiftcurrent is a pack of young wolves, myself included.” Fox knew there was value in elders, even if she was wary of them trying to overthrow her. It was a shame Jinx had left them, because although she only had a year on Fox, she had already led (at least) one pack previously. Fox would grow and learn, but not without a few inevitable mistakes along the way.
RE: south - Bazi - May 07, 2014
"I meet everyone who comes to the borders."
Bazi duh-ed at herself internally, but the fact that Fox was present to interrogate every hopeful raised a question. "Did Jinx have the right to accept new recruits?" she asked. The Silvertip wolf had held the Beta rank when Bazi had first arrived, and had been one of two leaders to question her.
There was a certain aloofness to both women - even now, after a month in close quarters, there was a certain aura - separate from the mantle of leadership - that separated Fox from her pack. She didn't connect like Tuwawi did, or eager little Bones. Ferdie and Jace were open, bleeding hearts in comparison. Bazi wondered if that was on purpose, or just a happenstance aspect of her leader's personality.
RE: south - RIP Fox - May 07, 2014
Sidenote! You can assume that Fox told Bazi about Jinx's threat shortly after arriving back home from STM.
“Aye,” Fox affirmed, having picked up the word from
Feeling relaxed, Fox slumped to the ground and began to preen her coat. She was not as obsessive as Ferdie about keeping herself well-groomed, but she did make sure she was not a complete mess. Pausing, she looked to Bazi. “Will I offend you if I doze off here?” she asked. There would be plenty of time to get back to the creek before nightfall, even if she took a nap, and an afternoon rest was sounding like just the thing.
RE: south - Bazi - May 08, 2014
Cool, will do. Do you maybe want to have a thread about that when you conclude your own with Jinx? I think Bazi was in Ravensblood Forest and Neverwinter Forest (she went after Tyrande, thinking Lecter had kidnapped her).
Bazi smile fondly at her leader. Concise and enigmatic as ever - but every now and then there would be a display of familiarity, like this one, that made the Creek girl feel privy to something rare and special.
"No, go ahead," she replied, turning her full attention back to the southern skyline. Come August, it would be shimmering with heat - but the weather now was pleasantly cool and perfect for a nap.
Fade? :D