Phoenix Maplewood When the dark returns

@Arion or @Ryker maybe? Or a lone wolf that wants to live in Phoenix Maplewood with us!

A horsefly hovered near Saena's ear, buzzing loudly. The alpha female flicked her ear for the twelfth time, trying to dissuade it, but it went right on buzzing. Phoenix Maplewood was rife with life and insects were part of that. Being a wolf, Saena was neither afraid nor concerned with them ordinarily, but when they were so close that they shook her concentration, then suddenly they were all she could notice.

Saena turned her head sharply and snapped her jaws, catching the horsefly expertly on her tongue. It bit but the wolf crunched down, wrinkled her muzzle and rumbled triumphantly. No bug would fuck with her.

Finally she began to move again, pacing the same path she'd followed three times in the last two and a half days. Already the ground was beginning to wear below the tread of her paws. Every few feet, the alpha would hike a leg, just like any dominant wolf male or female, and sprayed the ground with urine. Patrolling and marking were slowly becoming comfortable activities, especially since the incidents with Sebastian and Pantaleimon, to the point where she took a lazy pleasure in it. She'd decided that this was the ideal territory for her pack, especially given it seemed to hold a bounty of plants for Reek's and Citali's use, and had begun marking two and a half days ago.

Another horsefly followed in her wake, but for now Saena ignored it.

Ryker had begun to adjust to the new area although he hadn't quite found his way around. He had noticed this was a perfect place to live though. Plenty of food and access to herbs. However Ryker had put his healer trade on hold as it seemed the pack already had at least two. Perhaps he would pursue something else in the meantime. He began tracing the borders fresh scent markers had already been placed and from what it seemed Saena wasn't too far off.

Ryker began to trot in the hopes that he might catch up with the white alpha. Perhaps now would be a good time to formally introduce himself and perhaps get to know her. He took it upon himself to make sure he at least knew each of his pack mates. Friends or not that didn't matter but he had to know them.

It wasn't long before a glimpse of the white fae's fur caught his eye. He let out a small chuff so as not to startle her although he was sure even if he tried he couldn't. "Hello," he said bowing his head in greeting. Only after Ryker had stopped oving had he begun to notice the little insects buzzing around his head. He gave a momentary unamused glance but he quickly regained his composure. This was no time to be immature.

He flicked his ears every so often in attempts to keep them at bay although it didn't seem to work. He noticed Saena was in fact doing the same. "Annoying little buggers aren't they?" he mused.

The rustling of leaves almost masked Ryker's approach, but his chuff announced him well enough. Saena was rarely surprised by wolves coming up behind her any longer. More often than not it was Reek, and when it wasn't it was usually no one to fear. Only in the neutral lands did she put her guard up readily enough to turn on a dime. This was no neutral land, as any wolf with half a nose would know just by approaching it.

So her turn was leisurely, at least until she spotted the horsefly on her shoulder. With a snarl and a snap the alpha female sent it on its way at about the same time Ryker pointed out how irritating they were. "I can live with them," she said after a beat, "but we had nothing like these at the rise. It'll take some getting used to." Even Blacktail Deer Plateau was almost too high to be bothered by flies like this. They liked water and lowlands.

"How do you like it aside from them?" Saena asked, gesturing broadly to the forest around them. She hoped upon hope that her followers approved of Phoenix Maplewood just as she did, but she was eager to hear his honest feedback.

Ryker watched as Saena nipped another horsefly off her shoulder. "It's not a bad place. Plenty of resources for the healers and plenty of small prey to eat. Personally I preferred the mountains but that's mainly because I spent most of my time up there. I first met Reek at the rise before the pack had fully formed. I also met another couple of wolves up there and so I mainly hung around there. Although I once made a trip down to the valley," he stated.

He preferred the mountains because you could see so much from up there. Also it tended to be cooler up in the mountains because there was more of a breeze. Ryker wasn't a stickler for the heat.

"I think you made a great choice though choosing here to set up home. Although like you mentioned it'll take some getting used to with all the bugs." He said shaking one that had recently landed on his leg. "Mind if I walk with you?" he tilted his head. It was really the first time he was able to get to know the other Alpha so perhaps he would walk with her and they could talk more. If not he would go make himself useful elsewhere.

Saena preferred mountains too, but she knew how difficult it was to be an effective healer from a mountaintop. Plants didn't grow the same way there; her history as a naturalist told her that. The soil was either too acidic or the atmosphere was too thin. Something bothered them. It wasn't a good place for any healer to transplanting anything in hopes of having it flourish. Here, however, that would never be a problem. Transplanting probably wasn't even necessary.

"Me too," she told Ryker, "but I grew up in a forest. A bit different than this, and it was on a mountain," here she grinned sheepishly, "but it was nice. It was never too hot and there was always prey." The mountains were more barren at the worst of times, and at the best, the animals there were hardier. There wasn't much "easy" prey on a mountain. Goats, sheep, and all manner of other animal made the cliffs their home, but none of them were game for novices. Even the petite Saena, a half-decent gamekeeper, wouldn't tackle one of them without good reason.

"Nah, you're good," she said, gesturing for the newest (and last) official Redtail Rise member to take a place at her side. Another horsefly zoomed by but this one she didn't try to eat or swat. "I had no idea there could be so many of these... brown bee things," she commented as her eyes traced its path into the higher foliage. "I think they sting. My tongue didn't feel nice when I tried to eat one." Was eating bugs gross? She didn't really know. It seemed natural enough to her, and it worked as pest control on a personal level.

Ryker smiled slightly as the white alphess agreed with her on his standpoint when it came to the mountains. He nodded before saying "It makes sense that you like the then." He figured if you grew up in a place most wolves were forced to like it. Even if you didn't you were stuck in the pack until you were old enough or mature enough to go out on your own. Unfortunately Ryker wasn't exactly "most wolves". "I grew up in a field outside the wilds, with my mother. No pack or anything just me and her. I don't even have siblings, or a father as far as I know," he stated not touching much on the rest of the story. He figured if questions weren't asked no need to talk about it.

Ryker enjoyed the fact that the prey down here was a lot smaller and has less of a tendancy to want to kill or injury you. Up in the mountains he couldn't really put any of his limited hunting skillls to use. At least down her he didn't feel too useless.

Ryker gave a polite smile as Saena motioned for him to join her and padded up alongside the white alphess. "There just be thousands of them just buzzing around in here, its like they've got nothing better to do than annoy the creatures that take residence here," he said with a small chuckle. "What's the betting thats what they spend their whole lives doing. Their idea of fun," he said with a shrug.

Ryker had a little knowledge of these bee things since there were some in the place he grew up although the name of them he couldn't recall. "I think so, I remember my mother briefly mentioning that, although for all I know that could have just been something she used to scare me when I was a pup," he was annoyed that he couldn't really remember the exact details. He wished he could have been more help but there wasn't much else he could say.

"As long as they aren't poisonous," grumbled Saena, but she grinned good-naturedly. There was no sense in being overly annoyed with insects. The wolves were invading their home, after all. She supposed if she was a brown bee, she would be equally pissed off. Then again, it was Saena's belief that insects didn't really have brains with which to feel emotions. They just bumbled through life, barely sentient. She shuddered to think of them otherwise.

"How'd your mom survive?" was the next question Saena asked. While it wasn't unheard of for a single wolf to raise pups, it usually happened with the backing of a pack. Ryker suggested he had neither a pack nor a father. How had his mother not starved when he was just a few days old? While the question could be taken as some sort of judgement, Saena was more awed than anything. If a single female could raise pups on her own... well, she was probably the mother of the year, and a good role model for any aspiring mother.