Northstar Vale into the great wide yonder

@Redshank!

I was not uncommon to see Rannoch and Redshank traversing the territory together.  Since the pack had solidified their standing within the Vale, the pair of males had taken it upon themselves to flesh out the region and explore every nook and cranny that it had to offer. In their excursions, the Alpha was growing more confident in the other's capabilities, and as such he bestowed the younger wolf with more responsibilities. 

Today, Rannoch would present Redshank with the duty of protecting the borders. It had been his intention to start this conversation right off of the bat, but the two wolves had distracted themselves with other topics. It wasn't until the sun began the fall that Rannoch attempted to re-direct their conversation to his inital intentions. By doing this, Rannoch lead Redshank to the borders, prefacing their conversation with the potiental for the Xi to learn some new sparring tactics. 

"So," he began, pausing before the heavily marked as his eyes fell to his companion. "What all do you know about the borders?" Though Rannoch had shared information with the younger wolf, he was unsure how much had been retained.

While he would never admit it out loud, Redshank didn't mind spending time with Rannoch — hell, he almost enjoyed it. The day had found them spending most of the daylight hours patrolling the borders, Rannoch teaching the younger boy all sorts of things. Of course, Redshank did his best to derail the topic at nearly every turn and so, as the sun began to set, it was only then did they finally refocus back on the topic of pack borders.

The boy idly nosed around a small rock, one large ear turning to Rannoch as he spoke. He paused, slowly turning his gaze up to the Alpha with a small, sheepish grin. "They like, surround our territory?" he tried with a wave of his tail, pulling himself upright. "An' we can't let anyone in 'em." Yeah, that was good enough.

Rannoch was pleased with how much Redshank had retained in their offhanded lessons and to show his approval; he nodded at what had been offered. "Very good, Redshank," he praised. From this point, Rannoch wasn't sure of what else his Xi had retained, but, despite these uncertainties, the Alpha continued the test the younger wolf. 

"What do we do if a stranger crossed into our lands without permission?" He asked with a quirk of his brow; a look that indicated that Rannoch was confident that his pupil knew the answer.

His approval and praise was noted by Redshank with a wide grin and happy wag of his tail, before he went back to nosing around in the grasses as the Alpha further tested his knowledge. Immediately, he whipped back up enthusiastically, blurting out a, "WE KILL TH—" before he quickly cut himself off and offered another sheepish smile. "I...I mean we...call for you?"

Amused by Redshank's first attempt in answer his question, Rannoch smiled at the Xi. "No, we don't kill right off the bat," he mused once the boy had corrected himself. "But as a guardian, you must do everything in your power to drive them out of our territory. We do this first by trying to talk to them, but, if that doesn't work, then that's when you can fight them." Rannoch hoped that Redshank would never have to use physical force to remove any unwanted individuals from their territory. But even as this thought crossed the Alpha's mind, he knew that this desire was one that would not be obtainable. 

"If your opponent is beating you, then that is when you call for the entire pack. We'll help you take care of 'em." He paused then, looking expectantly to his pupil to see if he had any other questions needed to be addressed.

He withheld a scowl at Rannoch's answer. Sol had taught him to always act first, talking rarely got you anywhere. Granted, they never had their own territory, it seemed there were different rules for being in a pack. Redshank wasn't sure if he quite agreed with them but Rannoch was the Alpha; his word was law despite the objections the younger boy had. His shoulders deflated a little and he went back to idly nosing around in the dirt as he continued to listen.

At the mention of calling for the entire pack, he looked back up. "Then we kill them, right?" he asked in a tone that suggested his question was more of a confirmation than anything. He then quickly added with a quirk of his head, "have you killed anyone?"

Redshank was persistent about learning whether or not he could kill intruders and Rannoch frowned lightly at this, withholding his answer for a moment as he attempted to think of the best answer to give. "It depends on the situation," he decided. There was no black and white when it came to confrontations; there was a multitude of factors to consider. "But, the most important thing is that you listen to me if you're helping me. If I say that you can kill whoever is on our lands, then, by all means, kill them." He would leave it at this unless Redshank wanted any further clarification. 

It was as Rannoch decided to sniff the ground that the Xi expelled a blunt inquiry. Rising as quickly as he had lowered his muzzle, Rannoch shook his head. There had never been any reason for him to end the life of another. With an inquiring quirk of his brows, he countered, "have you?" 

Redshank found himself hoping an intruder would enter their lands now — even right now would be fine by him. Especially while Rannoch was around. He would show the Alpha how good of a guardian he could be; he hadn't had the chance to test his mettle so far and, being the headstrong boy he was, Redshank was certain he could take on anything that came his way.

As if to prove his point, the child leapt upon a tiny beetle who had been unearthed from his scrounging around, pinning it between his forepaws with a wicked grin. He couldn't say he wasn't slightly disappointed upon hearing big, burly Rannoch hadn't killed anyone before, but the question he shot back caused Redshank to stifle a mischievous giggle. He turned back to the beetle between his paws and slowly pressed them together. With a soft crunch, the creature was snuffed out of existence. Looking back to the Alpha, the boy shrugged.

"Maybe."

Redshank's attention was suddenly distracted by a beetle and Rannoch could only watch on curiously as he explained his preferences and the whether or not he had killed another. Finally, after the sound that indicated the beetle's death occurred, Redshank replied, and Rannoch found himself not believing Redshank. 

Despite his gut feeling, he indulged the Xi. "Did you now?" He asked as he quirked his brows curiously. "Tell me all about it," Rannoch masked his disbelief with intrigue as he attempted to appear genuine is his questions.

Thoroughly interested in his tiny victim, Redshank sniffed curiously at it, letting his paws fall open again to reveal a small smudge of black against his pawpads. His tongue flicked in and out to taste the mess left behind, only for him to quickly realise it was not exactly appetising. He snorted, recoiling in disgust before turning back up to Rannoch just in time to catch his inquisitive look. He smirked back.

"Well," he started with a smug drawl, planting his paws back onto the ground. "Sol helped, but I got to finish 'im off." The boy was making this up on the spot, of course, but Rannoch didn't need to know that. "He tried t'steal our food but Sol caught him. He started beggin' for his life but then we..." he faltered for a moment, trying to unsuccessfully pass it off as a dramatic pause as he tried to figure out how he and Sol killed this imaginary thief. "We, uh, tore out his guts! Yeah."

Soon enough, Rannoch was presented with a story that furthered his disbelief. It becoming blatantly obvious that Redshank was lying; from his "dramatic pause" to the subtle "yeah" that followed the tale, and Rannoch was quite satisfied that his initial assumption was seeming more like fact and less like fiction. He wanted to see where Redshank would take his story, Rannoch prompted him to elaborate. "And what did you do with the guts?" he asked with interest.

Had he been a more observant and astute wolf, Redshank would have realised Rannoch saw right through his lies. However, he was now far too deep, totally wrapped up in his own story, and he definitely wasn't the brightest boy out there. When the leader asked what he and Sol had done with this fictional character's insides, Redshank snickered and waved his tail, standing before the older male almost proudly. "We ate 'em, of course!" Since he was trying to steal their meal, it was only right they made a meal out of him!

"Have y'ever tasted guts?" Seeing as Rannoch hadn't partaken in murder, though, the boy quickly added, "I mean like, from a moose or somethin'."

The tale of murder took an interesting twist into the realm of cannibalism. It was unexpected, and Rannoch's expression shifted briefly to show this before he was posed with a question from the boy. 

"Yeah, I like them," he replied with his own fib, licking his lips once he had answered. "They're the best part of the prey, wouldn't you agree?" He wondered what Redshank's reaction would be. The pair went on to elaborate on their conversation. In his best attempt to teach Redshank about the border, as Rannoch thought that this lesson was of the utmost importance.