Ouroboros Spine Give a Dog a Bone

@Kroc @Kroc @Kroc

Well... this was interesting. He'd happened upon the place in a very crazy random happenstance kind of way. Okay, not really. Walking wasn't exactly a chore and since he was a little hellbent on covering every square inch of this territory he was bound to stumble upon this place sooner or later. In this case, it was sooner because he'd happened upon it now. Duh. Ugh. He was going insane. Something interesting needed to happen soon. 

A bone pile would work. 

Kero moved along the edges of the pile and circled it. Bored, he could probably grab one of those suckers and worry on it until his jaw ached enough for him to call it a day. Yup. Sounded good to him. And... that bone would work. He snagged the end of a bone that was jutting out and pulled, tugging on the round of it only to find that it was somehow lodged into place. Well that wouldn't work now would it?

With a huff, the wolf repositioned himself and tugged at it from a new angle. He pulled, jerking it around like a chew toy. He'd get this thing out of there eventually. 

@Tonravik rhjfekds I totally typed that as Toniravik the first time -dies-

This place was interesting. Enough to bring her back to it at least. Her encounter with the male wolf last time was vague in her mind, if only because it didn't stand out. His name escaped her for the moment but she remembered his face and new he guarded the borders just as she did. The fact that Kroc was not a very sociable creature kept her to the outskirts of the territory, doing what she knew how to do, and doing it damn well. 

Today, the pale tank was taking a break, grabbing a snack from a cache and consuming that before she moved towards the more interior areas, specifically the bone pile. Just as last time, she had intentions of scaling the pile and settling on top of it but a curious red form caught her attention first, her ears pitching forward as the bright red coat shook her recognition skills up. 

Well, damn. It was good ol' Shit-For-Brains.

A survey of the wind brought his scent to her, covered in the musk of pack. A feral grin took her features and she closed in, snagging his tail and tugging on it so she pulled him away from his prize before releasing him so she could step past him. "Didn' expect t' see you here, Shit-For-Brains." Indeed, she hadn't but oh well. He was pack now and that was what mattered.

Tonravik had yet to discover this particular patch of land. But today, something brought her to it. Perhaps the combined scent of two of her subordinates in one location, or perhaps this was the way the wind blew her. Whatever it was, she was here now. And when her eyes fell upon the mountain of bones, Tonravik moved warily toward it. Iqniq tugged, and Kroc regarded him. Tonravik herself regarded this fixture, here, sniffing at it. Whatever brought it here was long gone, stale. But it did not smell of any of the other wolves that had once been here. The pile was older than even their claim. 

She went to climb it. Tonravik rubbed herself on the pile of bones, where Iqniq was not facing. She would get to that side. The leader was staking her claim upon this pile of bones, her tail waving left and right excitedly. Some wolves had their trinkets; Tonravik was a lover of bones new and old. If the marrow was good, then so was the rest of it. Upon arriving to the top, she noticed Iqniq tugging at a bone. Tonravik lost her footing on the unstable mountain, and as one dislodged, she slid all the way down toward him, bringing a great many bones tumbling down. Ungracefully she came downward, sure to crash into the fiery male if he did not move. She managed to do this reclined on her haunches, catlike, but there was no measure of control in this unfortunate accident as her paws sought stability. Nothing. The mountain remained standing, even despite the dislodging of one bone that caused this ruckus.

He had a bit of a one-tracked mind. Right now, all he cared about was dislodging the bone in front of him so he could give it a good chew. He pulled; had no luck. Repositioned himself; continued to have no luck. At one point, Kero examined the situation well enough to put both paws on the pile of bones that was trapping it and give it another go. Damn it. He was sure that would have worked.

In one final effort Kero lifted three paws to the pile and someone awkward tried to give it another tug. He pulled, only to be tugged backwards so that his teeth lost purchase and snapped shut. The fuck? He turned, spying the white wolf. "Been awhile, crocodile," he greeted, turning his attention back to that bone. "Get a little help with this?" Evidently one wolf was not enough to make it happen.

Kero wrapped his teeth back around the bone and realized quickly enough that it was a mistake. Their swamp-monster of an alpha was atop the pile and she lost her footing, sliding down the edges and straight into– Oh shit.

She collided into him before he had a chance to react. The next thing he knew, he was squished and somehow ended up with Tonravik on top of him. Wherever Kroc happened to be was beyond him because he suddenly realized the bone he was after was still in his mouth. His tail gave a wag before his smile sank into something sleazy. "Pretty sure this is the only bone you'll ever give me," he murmured to the dark woman. He curled his paws underneath him and tried to shake her off. Couldn't. "Bitch, you be heavy."

As he had before, the copper colored wolf elicited a laugh from the pale Warden-to-be. It had been a while but she was not one to measure time and so the comment was brushed away with the flick of an ear. She remembered the important things; their good-tempered spar, their ability to work in tandem bringing down the boar, his acceptance of her all-around attitude for it seemed he ran much in the same vein judging by first impressions. For the reptilian creature, first impressions were weighted heavily and he had mad a good one. 

There was sound, commotion. Her attention switched from SFB to the height of the pile where --

"Aw, shit." Move. Move. Her body was too heavy and while her reflexes were fast, she couldn't make herself get up and go that fast. Her back end somehow managed to end up under both of them. "Jesus fuck are you guys whales or wolves?" With a mighty heave, the pale creature pulled herself out of the tangle of limbs and with a playful growl, pushed past both of them to charge up the pile and claim it, however briefly, as hers. 

With wolves that she was comfortable with, Kroc was a seemingly different wolf, trusting and a slight bit easy-going. It just so happened that SFB seemed to bring out that vulgar mouth of hers. Oh well. 

Tonravik lay sprawled out on top of Iqniq. She felt a shifting. Kroc had escaped them. She swung her head in the direction of the fiery wolf, ears not hearing, eyes only seeing. In between his jaws was something she now wanted. Tonravik forgot just how massive she was and leaned forward on his chest some, truly not knowing just how big she was in the moment she reached for the bone in his mouth. Mine. 

She attempted to grab it, unsure if she was successful, to make it her own bone. Tonravik as a cub marked most every bone she found to assure her siblings would not have it. This, though, she'd have to pry free first. Tonravik put most of her weight in her hindquarters as she sought a firmer grip; this was one bone of Iqniq's she wanted...

Kroc in the distance distracted her. Her eyes turned toward the other climbing upward, hearing more bones slide downward. Tonravik had to decide then what she wanted more... this one bone, or them all. In that instant, she decided them all. She doggedly bounded upward, sending plenty of bones downward because of it, hoping to make it to the top before Kroc. It was in vain; the other had a headstart. It certainly wouldn't stop the massive bear of a wolf from finding her own spot up there. 

"The fuck is a whale?" Seriously. He'd only been the the ocean like... twice in his entire life. Somehow he knew what a crocodile was, but a whale? No go. Nevertheless, he realized he'd ended up on top of Kroc somehow which was probably why it was so freaking hard to get Ton off his back. The while wolf was lumpy and– "Omph."

Kroc escaped. Kero ended up on the ground with Tonravik fully on top of him. He snatched up the bone fully and watched her. Those eyes. Oh god those eyes. She was gonna kill him for this bone... To hell with her. It was his. He'd kill her first. A growl escaped him, warning her off of it as she crept forward, applying pressure on his chest. Damn it. His growl failed him, but he could still wrinkle his nose and jerk that bone out of the way when she went to snatch at it. Mine.

He lifted a foot as she pulled, ready to pry her face off before a clattering of bone echoed upon their ears. Just like that their eyes turned towards the pile. Almost synchronized with that primal canine urge to have not just one bone, but all the bones. All of them.

Toni raced for it, clamoring to make up for lost ground as Kroc had her head start. Kero was right behind her, fending off an onslaught of bone debris with his new bone club as he battled his way towards the top of the pile and sought to dethrone whatever queen thought she could take this ivory mount. This pile deserved a king. And he was the only one present with the balls to do this mound justice.

Tonravik was quick to realize what was happening and Kroc snarled, putting on the steam as she moved to keep her lead. The bones shifted and moved beneath her paws, a sensation that the pale creature decidedly did not enjoy. But she got there, turning to flash teeth in her Alpha's face, defending her position at the top of the unstable hill. Snarling, a paw pushed at the bones, hoping to cause her to slide back again, though she was quite aware of Kero coming up right behind their dark leader. Hell no. This was her spot! Teeth snapped up a bone, taking a page out of Echelon's book as she waved it at them, warning them off of trying to remove her from this spot. 

"Mine, motherfuckers." 

It was the only thought running through her head at the moment, though she was fully aware that this was play and nothing more.

Tonravik heard Iqniq clamor behind him. Surprise overtook her when Kroc turned in a snarl, and her back-paw lost its footing on a bone uncertain in its place. She slid backward, perhaps even into Iqniq again, but regained her footing. She stood still for a moment, weighing her options. She snorted, chuffing to Iqniq. This could be something of a good training mission, if he was up to it. Tonravik gestures toward the left, the movement for now perceptible, as she moves toward the right.

Which side would Kroc defend? She couldn't do it all... Tonravik snaps at Kroc herself, now, the movement harmless but expressing all the same: move out of my way. Tonravik enjoyed these sorts of games; she enjoyed winning, most of all.

Oh hell no! He was not letting that elephant fall back on him again. He scurried, sidestepping around the pile of falling bones as he tried to dodge another catastrophe. He wanted the top of the pile he was going to get it. Hence, Kroc could very well distract herself with Tonravik while he fanned out and approached from another side. 

Bone in his mouth, Kero kept himself lower on the pile and remained somewhat eye level with Kroc's feet. Toni moved in, snapping at the polar bear atop the pile, while Kero swung his bone club at her feet and attempted to swipe them out from underneath her.

The dark female slid back and a smirk took her features, pleased that she had protected her position for now. SFB avoided her dark mass — barely — and it was while her attention was on him that Tonravik made some movement, bringing narrowed gold eyes back to her. Up she came, teeth groping for Kroc's paw, which she quickly yanked back, snarling again. 

The sound was cut short by the blow to her back leg, sending her heavy form crashing to the pile and down its side. Standing once more, she shook herself before charging back up the pile to dethrone whoever had taken her place.

She had distracted the wolf long enough to see her fall; Tonravik herself, now, bounded up to the top in two quick movements. One back leg slid backward but was promptly placed beneath her, and then Tonravik lays on the top so that she cannot be moved. This, she thinks is smart. If it was not, she would learn as much. In the meantime, she picked up a bone, watching Kroc race toward her, and chucked it at her.

And as Iqniq came closer, she turned and did the same, baring her teeth at him as her forelegs swept bones toward her and she began chewing, a low growl ebbing from her throat. My bones. How she had not found this sooner she did not know; gnawing on these was a favorite past time of hers when the days were hot and there was little else to do.

Kroc was dethroned. Their combined efforts sent the white wolf toppling down the pile of bones. Tonravik was quick to claim her victory and even quicker to flop down on the top of the hill and use her weight to stake her claim. Damn it. She'd already made it more than well known she was a rock of a creature and impossible to budge. Plus, she was chucking bones at them. Curse her.

Bone still in his mouth, he used it to deflect the bone Toni threw at him. The crack of them sounded in the air as Kero dropped his and moved, slinking around the edges of the bone pile as Tonravik claimed a bone of her own and began to gnaw on it. Kero snagged her tail between his teeth and gave her a good yank, pulling the black wolf towards him as Kroc began to scramble back towards the top. Nothing. Wolf was definitely a whale.

Thinking nothing of it, Kero released her tail and stepped on top of Tonravik to balance all four paws on her shoulders and hips. If she was gonna just lay there, he could at least stand higher.

I was vague at the end to just imply that there was a collision. What happens with your characters is (obviously) up to you! <3

Up, up, up the bones, slipping here and sliding there. She wasn't fast, she was heavy and that made it more difficult. Especially with the bone that she had to dodge as it was flung in her direction. The even moving structure beneath her was hard enough to scale with out all of this bullshit. But she charged back up anyhow, Tonravik's attention on her own bone for the moment. The cinnamon's eyes were for the dark Alpha, trying a quick tug before simply climbing on top of her. 

She smirked. Perfect. Her momentum surged as she near the crest, making no motion to slow down and instead looked to use her own weight to move both of them. Throwing said weight around was something the tank took great joy in and this was only another way to do it. All she had to do was dislodge them both the smallest amount and down they go, sliding down to the bottom.

Rather, that was the plan. A hind foot slipped. She crashed, into both of them, and what happened after was just chaos, a loud and mighty clattering of bone. Oops. 

One thing her wolves would learn beneath her reign was not to mess with her tail. The thick, furry plume was a banner of her dominance, and one she waved freely and with pride. But before she could retaliate...

Iqniq was soon atop her, and she was about to bring his life to an end remove him from where he stood. Tonravik's eyes blazed and she prepared for the slaughter, but Iqniq was heavy himself, and she could not simply spring to the skies and remove him. So she made things difficult, shifting herself as she lay on the peak, but not so much as to be sure she would disturb him at all. It mattered not. She heard a crashing and felt a shift, but could not know what happened to her until Iqniq himself was affected, given her relatively safe location atop her throne, laying heavily where she was and further anchored by the flame.

Welp. This was awkward. Tonravik tried to shake him, but he was heavy and able to shift his weight just enough so that she shook him, but was mostly unsuccessful in fully removing him from her form. Paws touching down on the bone pile, he'd effectively pinned her beneath his weight, but that didn't really do much for being king of the pile save that they'd now claimed it together.

For a second there, he'd nearly forgotten Kroc, but she moved back around to face them at a charge. And then she stumbled, plowing into them enough so that Kero lifted his paws on that side and was suddenly off balanced. He tumbled, but if he was going down, he was going down for real. His teeth reached out for Tonravik's scruff in an effort to use her weight to either slow down his fall, or to bring her down with her. 

Her failure would have caused her to become more aggressive in an attempt to succeed in removing him from her, his weight unwelcome and uncomfortable... but Kroc saved the day without quite meaning to. She felt the weight of Iqniq fall onto one side, and in this fortunate shift, she shimmied again to aid in his descent. It was this that kept her clean from Iqniq's scruff-grab, and she heard the clatter as he moved downward. She had him to thank, that Kroc had not caught her...

And she snorted as the two moved down in their fall, but with them... with them her bone, her veritable scepter. Tonravik was up in an instant and bolting toward it, fetch. It tumbled away from Iqniq and away from Kroc, and she swept it into her jaws as though she'd caught a potential home run. The large bone was quite long, a femur (or perhaps a tibia) and at the moment, was her pride and joy. She hunkered over it protectively, continuing now to drag her teeth against it and chew.

They fell, together. Pale fur mixed with cinnamon, jumbled as they slid down the pile. She didn't even notice the fact that Tonravik's chosen bone had come down with them. Where she ended up, she stayed, though she did put a paw in SFB's face to push it away from hers. The flash of black as their leader snatched up her bone refocused her attention, leading to the female to rise to her own feet, snatch a prize of her own only so that she could settle on the ground nearby and relax. Gold eyes flickered to the cinnamon male, one ear trained on him but as far as she was concerned, their King of the Pile game had concluded with Tonravik as the victor.

His teeth snapped down on nothing but air. Damn. She'd squirmed out of reach only to help push him further down the pile. Falling backwards, Kroc somehow joined him and they landed. Her paws pressed against his face and he parted his jowls just enough to lick between the gaps in her pads. Gross. Her feet were dirty.

He snapped at that foot and pulled himself out from underneath it only to find that Kroc had paused in her efforts to claim the pile. He followed her gaze, looking to where Tonravik now sat with a bone tight within her clutches. His eyes flicked towards Kroc and he met her stare. Just a look and they both knew who'd won this. There would be no parting their queen from her bone.

Kero untangled himself from beneath Kroc and stood. His eyes lingered over Toni for a moment before he decided she was far too occupied to bother. Instead, he looked towards the white she-wolf and lowered into a bow, stretching, before he rose to shake the dust from his pelt. "Later, gator," he said, turning to leave. "Better luck next time."

-Kero exits-

we can fade this with my post or with yours! :)

Her forelegs were pinned to the earth, over her bone, and she simply used her weight to keep it in place as she continued to gnaw. The leaders eyes, however, shifted between Iqniq and Kroc, who, after they gathered themselves, made no move toward her bone. When Kroc settled herself, it was only Iqniq she needed to watch... and he looked to her for a moment. She paused in her gnawing long enough to offer him a stony look, ears swiveling forward slowly as she inched forward for her chest to touch her treasure: my bone.

He seemed to get the hint, and when he looked away, the leader resumed once more in chewing her prize. The sound of Kroc gnawing away, too, could be heard, as their fangs scraped against their objects in a different tempo.