+- 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: The Floodlands a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? (/showthread.php?tid=26894)
a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Finley - April 24, 2018
I'm assuming he would've gone South but I can swap the territory if needed lol
Fin hadn't expected things to happen so quickly with @Colt. She knew that he and Quixote had gone to Elwood with their concerns - concerns that had infuriated her and made it very fortunate that she'd had two puppies suckling at her teets at the time as she otherwise would've stormed straight over to them to open up a can of whoop ass. The babies had kept her in place long enough that the rage had passed, leaving her feeling contemplative on what her next move would be. Apparently she had spent too much time thinking though, for soon enough, Towhee was at her doorstep informing her of the latest development in the saga, and Fin was pushing her boys off on @Elwood so that she could rush to catch her brother before he disappeared into the Wilds.
The beta panted heavily as she ran, cringing every so often as her hip screamed in protest at being ill-used yet again. She caught his scent not far from the borders and sent out a short call asking him to stop, or come back, or just hold on for a damn minute. She didn't know what she could say to make him reconsider - probably there was nothing. She knew what happened when her brother made up his mind about something, and it wasn't only his mind that mattered in this situation. No, it likely was what it was, but that didn't mean Colt had earned himself a free pass to skip out on her without saying anything. They'd come too far for that.
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Colt RIP - April 24, 2018
He didn't regret what he'd said immediately, but he definitely regretted the way he'd said it. Enough to go back and apologize? Hell no. But enough to sit and mope for a bit in a way that hardly befitted his age. Fuck he was tired of always wandering solo. He'd thought maybe this time he'd had it. It hadn't felt as good as it had with Nell, but it had come pretty damn close, even without many prospects lady-wise. But then he'd had to open his big mouth and screw it up.
It was always times like these his age hit him hardest, and he was in a right funk when he heard his sister's calls. First instinct as a brother who kinda blamed her for this too? Piss on her and keep going. But he sighed, lifting his own muzzle to howl in answer as he set to meet her. This likely wasn't going to be fun, but he did owe it to her, and he didn't want to fuck things up with them again.
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Finley - April 24, 2018
Thankfully, her asshat of a brother decided to not do the asshat thing, coming to meet her instead. Finley dropped to her haunches and breathed a sigh the moment she saw him approaching. She leaned heavily to her left so as to keep any pressure off of her aching hip, shutting her eyes to get all of her wincing out before Colt came near enough to see her. The plan didn't work too well - he was standing right in front of her when she finally opened her eyes. She frowned at him, suddenly uncertain of what to say for like... a second.. before she parted her lips to speak.
"Really bro?" Fin said, sighing wearily at him. She had thought she might yell or rage at him when the time came, but she was too exhausted for that. All she could do was ask him to confirm that this was indeed real life, and he had indeed gotten himself kicked out because he didn't like a bird.
The situation was overly simplified in her mind. But that probably went without saying.
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Colt RIP - April 24, 2018
Colt maybe felt a little bad for making her come all the way out here - but had he? If anything she could blame her head honcho for that.
Yeah that sounded fake even to him.
He half expected her to lay into him, defending Towhee like Elwood had. She was as stubborn as him; had he really thought she would change her mind? Instead, all he got was resigned condescension, as if he were the one being completely off base.
"Really," he intoned, backing his own play even if no one else would. It was almost tempting to leave it at that - but he would be Colt if he didn't have more to say.
"Tell me one thing.. why. One solid reason that she should be leading over you or Elwood. Or anyone else." He watched her carefully, not wanting to incite, but wanting to at least understand. "Especially when she fessed up to doing practically nothing a usual leader is expected to do."
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Finley - April 24, 2018
Colt didn't sugarcoat it for her, not that she'd expected him to. If he was willing to give up so much, then it stood to reason that he felt very strongly about this topic. His words were full of frustration and while a day ago, she would have raged at him for being such a piece of shit, she simply looked at him with a worn out expression on her face. She was weary of having to defend Towhee all the time lately, though at least this time it wasn't against herself.
"She would give her life for the pack," Fin answered easily. It was not something that she was willing to do, and she knew that while her mate would have given his life to protect her or the kids, he would not have done so for the pack. They both had their kids to stick around for. The pack simply couldn't be their entire world. But it had always been everything to Towhee. Why else would she defend it so fiercely against every outsider to knock at their door?
"Colt, Elwood and I are old. I have maybe... a year left in me where I can be of any use to this place. My fighting days are over. Hell, I'm pretty sure that my hunting days are over now too..." she admitted, the truth of it sinking into her gut as though she'd swallowed a block of ice, "Elwood has enough of a job now protecting and hunting for the both of us. We just can't take on the responsibility of an entire pack anymore. Not as alphas. Not like we used to."
Fuck that was a sobering thought... but not the first time she'd thought it, though likely the first time she'd said it aloud. "And think what you will of Towhee, but that girl was born with a disability that would've been a death sentence to anyone else, and she survived. Hell, the kid made her own damn language and had us all speaking it by the time she was three months old. No one ever taught her how to survive as a deaf wolf, but she figured it out. I love how highly you apparently think of El and I, but we have no idea how to teach her to be a deaf alpha either. But she's gonna figure the fuck out of it because that kid is devoted to the Redhawks. She is smart, and she is strong, and she has one hell of a heart. Give me one good reason she shouldn't lead that's not because she's deaf."
She fixed her brother with a stubborn stare now, waiting for whatever snark he had in store for her in response.
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Colt RIP - April 24, 2018
Colt had to fight the urge pretty hard not to snort when Finley spoke. Wasn't the willingness to give your life for the pack sorta the minimum to even being considered a loyal packmate? And the rest of them had been what, jerking off the entire time they were in Blackfeather?
But he heard her out, every last word. Until she got to the end, when he did give an audible snort of laughter. Not cruel... tension-breaking. Amused.
"Frog, you may be ready to throw in already, but that doesn't mean I am. You got it wrong... it isn't that I think high of you. It's I don't think much of her." He said it flat out, though his tone dropped a bit once he finished, almost apologetically. She might see all these great things in Towhee, but to Colt, she'd been unfriendly and unsuited from the start.
"She isn't interested in diplomacy, isn't interested in growing the pack, and from what I've seen, isn't much for talking to those who aren't you guys. But maybe that's what you want." He shifted, uncomfortable now. "I didn't mean to start shit. But you know I could never keep my mouth shut." Finally he stopped to look at her, silently questioning. Were they still gonna be good, or had he screwed that too by getting himself booted?
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Finley - April 26, 2018
Colt was quick to correct her. Good thing too, otherwise they could've said their good byes and she would never have known he didn't actually think that highly of her. Finley frowned at him, finding it more offensive that he didn't like Towhee than she could've had she actually thought he didn't think much of her. But she was tired, and so she didn't rise to his words, much as she disliked them. All she could do was frown so much that my dad nearly materialized before them out of no where and told her that her face was going to freeze like that.
"Since when do you care about things like diplomacy and growing the pack?" she replied, knowing full well already that her brother had somehow managed to mature just a smidgen in the time they'd spent apart. "And what exactly is the solution you're going for anyway? If Elwood and I can't be alphas, then who is it you had in mind? Who else do we have that could step up in her place? Tegan? Fiadh? How about we throw the reigns at Eljay, see how far that takes us?" just.. throw all them kids under the bus. She's the best mom. "Towhee is the best we have and yeah, it's going to take time to get her up to speed on the finer points of leadership, but she's got what it takes, and she's got us to back her up until she gets there."
Why in the world could her dumb ass brother not see it? Fin considered grabbing his head and smacking it against the ground a few times, but her hip did still ache something fierce.
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Colt RIP - April 26, 2018
Colt shook his head, but that was really his only response to his sister's first exclamation. He had grown, and there were a lot of things she didn't know. Things that now he likely wouldn't get the chance to tell her; and maybe that was fine. If he had changed, she had become a completely different person in the time they'd been apart. He hardly recognized this Finley... old Fin would have never accepted being too old for anything. They were going to be 9 years old and still raising hell, right? Old Fin would have laughed in his face and responded that she didn't think much of him either.
This pack... they didn't share his humor. Everything was live or die, serious all the time, and this was what really grated him, deep down. He didn't want to watch what he said, he was too fucking old to change for them. The few times he'd talked with Towhee, it was clear there was a disconnect. And now that she led, and Fin had changed, and Elwood was the way he was... Quixote was the only one he could really let loose around. What kinda a pack was that for a guy?
"I asked Elwood, because obviously I didn't know you had decided you were too old. I guess I do give you more credit than you do." He sighed, and turned from her slightly, not meeting her face anymore. "Truth is, Fin, it's probably not even that. I just don't fit here. I've tried. But I've got this notion that a pack should like you for you. All this is showin me is that isn't the case here." Yeah he'd fucked up a little. But if he couldn't jibe his packmates, raise a little hell, and have them give back just as good in return, then he wasn't going to be happy.
He'd grown some, but he wasn't willing to grow up that much. It made him more than a little sad that she had.
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Finley - April 28, 2018
When Colt confessed his real reason for causing all the trouble, Fin felt surprised, and sad. He didn't think he fit in? What in the hell? She didn't understand this any better than she understood his passionate dislike of Towhee. Until the whole urging Elwood to become alpha thing, hadn't they always gotten along? Her kids enjoyed him too, as far as she was aware. This didn't make sense, and it was a real slap in the face considering she was a part of this pack as well.
In spite of the protest in her hip, Fin stood then. She walked up to her brother, lifted a paw, and bopped him hard on the nose - not enough to hurt, but enough to make a point (or so she hoped). She frowned at him, her tail lashing back and forth with irritation. "You're completely ridiculous, you know that?" she said, bracing herself for any retaliation, "You're surrounded by your family here. You don't get along with one of them. If you're looking for across the board popularity, you're not likely to find it anywhere. You're kind of a jack ass, pal."
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Colt RIP - April 28, 2018
He wasn't any more sure where this sudden urge to self-destruct had come from any more than she was, and he took the boop full on. She was right on that. He could have kept his mouth shut, been more careful around Towhee, and probably lived a pretty damn good life here with the fam. Instead he'd for some reason decided to open a can of worms with the one wolf he didn't get along with, really hadn't bothered to try and get along with, and bam. Now he was off to probably die alone wandering somewhere out in the wilds. He wasn't a downer like her, so he wasn't gonna exactly say it... but he was starting to get to an age where this whole 'out on your own thing' was getting somewhat riskier than the benefits.
"Yeah, well, what's new?" he asked with a small grin, masking whatever thoughts he had going on behind. "You'd be surprised... sometimes being a jackass to the head honcho doesn't get you booted. Sometimes they're a jackass back." There had been a few packs he'd enjoyed longer stints with, but in those, the alphas had been buds. Colt didn't have much problem falling in line. He supposed he just had a problem staying there sometimes. Even those places he'd left, couldn't much remember why now.
"Maybe I'll stop by again. Say hey," he finished, stepping forward quick to give her a quick hug. "If I'm not public enemy one that is."
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Finley - April 29, 2018
Her grin returned at his response. It was so like him to make light in such a shit situation. Of course, she was attempting to do the same, but they were siblings after all. They had their dad to blame for that. In any case, Fin gave him a frown, assuming that he had meant her when referring to the head honcho that would be a jackass right back at him. She'd argue if it wasn't perfectly true. Finley would never have thrown him out for this had she been the alpha he'd attempted to attack and then shouted at about her ineptitudes. But Colt was her brother. He'd spent most of his life attacking her and then shouting at her, and she knew it was nothing to take personally.
Towhee, however, did not. And Towhee was alpha. Finley knew she couldn't override her declaration by taking him back and reinstating his rank. He had majorly disrepected the alpha, and that was very different than majorly disrespecting his sister. Fin held hope still that the damage could be repaired, but she knew it would not be now. Colt was too stubborn, and Towhee's hold on her rank apparently too tumultuous. So, she simply leaned into the hug, nuzzling the fur upon his shoulder with a tiny whine.
"You'll only be public enemy number one if you dont stop by again," Fin reassured him, her throat tightening with emotion. What if this was the last time she saw him? No. It couldn't possibly be. She wouldn't let it be. "I will murder you so fucking dead if you don't," she warned him, her voice cracking slightly.
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Colt RIP - April 29, 2018
He wasn't surprised when she didn't argue; she'd been talking about her, and a couple like her. Who knew him well enough to know that if he charged from behind, he wasn't going to harm.... a prank and a surprise, albeit yes in this case for a pretty shitty reason on his part. And who could argue back, or even just laugh and tell him to shut the hell up unless he wanted the job. Any reaction but the one he'd gotten. Some inkling that he could find Towhee as likeable as everyone else here seemed to. He'd gotten nothing.
"If I can, I will, I promise," he said, leaning briefly into her scruff before pulling back. "Keep an eye on those kids of yours. They're pretty ok." He gave her one last long look before turning around and heading off. He really couldn't let his sister see him cry, after all, that'd put a real damper on things.
RE: a seal didn't bite your linus off, did it? - Finley - May 05, 2018
When Colt moved away and bid her farewell, Finley simply gazed at him. She couldn't trust herself to speak, knowing that she would just cry and embarrass herself in front of her brother. And if this was actually the last time they saw each other, then she wanted to look... Well, she wanted to look like a two year old (which isn't weird cause they're wolves). She wanted to be young and lively and full of the fire she had been back in their prime. That Finley would never have cried.
Truth be told, that Finley would've beaten the hell out of him for being such a dick and run him out of there herself. So maybe it was better that this Finley was the one to see him off. Old, crippled, and weighed by responsibility she may be, but at least she could say good bye with warmth instead of frigid rage.
Fin lingered for a few moments after Colt turned away from her before turning herself. She didn't head immediately back to the Plateau, instead deciding to take a bit of time to exhaust her own emotions before facing Towhee again. She didn't want her goddaughter to know how deeply her decision had hurt, so she would wait until the hurt had subsided enough to hide before going home again.