Silvertip Mountain Let's trade shoes, just to see what it'd be like

All the time since Dad had whispered the words to him, Mason had been thinking on what he could get Steady as a gift. He really liked his Uncle, and spent as much time with him as he could. It was akin to having a big brother he really respected. Little did he know that Fitz and Zaria had been planning to make him a real big brother, but perhaps his admission of feelings had dampened their goals.

Mason pressed forwards in the early morning light, just enough to see by as the sun’s pale rays reverberated off the snow that now littered the ground all around. The only places to find shelter were in the glass caves, hollows, or deep beneath the shelter of clusters of trees – and even there you tended to find snow dripping and slipping from the high branches onto your nose or tail. Today, speckles of white floated serenely down from the sky to nestle upon his coat and make it a paler version of its usual plasterboard-grey. Mason shook his fur, but couldn’t manage to dislodge most of the snow so put it off as a bad job. He would just become a snow monster. Maybe Uncle Steady would like that?

The ground glistened with ice, and Mason slipped, dashing his socked paw against sharp rock as he came to a skidding halt. Raising his voice to swear loudly, Mason flumped down on the floor and turned the inside of his paw towards him. Blood welled in the wound, which was quite a large tear on the inner-underside of his leathery pads, between two of his toes. With tears glistening in his eyes, he peered at the wound, and realised that part of the rock had lodged itself into his skin.

With all of the thought of a carnal, wounded animal Mason began to try and rip the stone out with his teeth, yelping with pain as he touched the fresh cut.

Zaria hated the snow. She hated it. Fitz might find it beautiful but he better not find it beautifuler than her! Still the petite female was loyal and wouldn't back off from her tasks because there was some of this white snow in the way. But having to go through the cold and have more specs of snow coming down soured her mood greatly. She couldn't even see where she was going and at some places she would sink to her chin in the snow. The higher up the mountain the more snow she seemed to encounter. She had been been to the top, and with all these snows it was probably most likely that she would never go there ever.

Zaria encountered a deep part of the snows again, needing to jump or wrestle her way through it. She couldn't deny that this snow was defining her muscles. The female also knew that she had to keep moving not to freeze to death. Her coat wasn't as thick as Fitz's or any other wolf. She came from the south where no snows touched the ground. Here, located higher than the plains she was born she would have to get used to snow. Her ears perked up as she heard a yelp. A prey! Wounded! Zaria rushed forward. The snow became less deep and traveling was easier. As she came closer to the sounds she realized it was Mason. The poor little boy didn't get a break did he?

Zaria trotted forward to the youngster. Her tail was up but her eyes looked worried. She smelled blood. Instantly her nose went through the fur on his neck almost looking like a worried mother. Then she spotted the paw with the piece of rock in it. See, all the snows fault. It was probably because of this damn snow Mason hadn't seen the rock. "I hate snow," she huffed and then moved her muzzle down to inspect Mason's wound. Zaria, as sly as she was, eyed to the side to see Mason's face for a moment. Just before she bit down in the sides of the pad, it was quick but probably painful for Mason. Still it was like popping a pimple, the piece of stone was at least out of his paw. "You can lick your paw now," she pointed out. Because if Mason licked it before then he might cut open his tongue too. That danger was removed by Zaria. And she was not going to lick his feet, that was just disgraceful.

Mason had gnawed the wound more open by the time Alphess arrived on the scene. Despite his worrying of the wound, he did look up from his task when she appeared. Her agouti fur frosted with snow until she looked like a festive yule log, here to bring him tidings of comfort and joy. With her tail sky high, Mason’s immediately bottled it and dropped to the ground – it couldn’t curl beneath his belly only because he was already flattened against the rock. 

It didn’t take long before she nuzzled his snow-spotted neck. Mason blinked up at her, dazed by her touch. Why did she have to keep doing this? Turning up and making his legs turn to jelly? Mason wanted to hate her, but unfortunately he could not muster the feelings. He had been thinking his amour for her had dimmed, but then she swanned up and touched him, so close he could smell her sweetness. Mason lay stiff until she was finished her inspection… or so he thought.

One keen-eyed sideways glance was all the warning she gave him. Suddenly Zaria nipped at his wound. Somehow, through blinding pain, he realised she had caught the pads at just the right angle he couldn’t, and she had removed the rock. But as he was realising this, his body was acting unbidden. Mason leapt to three paws, his injured one tucked up towards his chest, and backed away from her three paces whilst he roared at her. Alpha or not, she had invaded his personal space whilst wounded, prodded him, hurt him. Worse, she did this whilst knowing what her touches did to him. Now he was an unreasonable and very sore bear. Droplets of blood quivered from his paw onto the snowy white ground, marring its freshness with his taint.

“GRAAAAAARGGRHHHHHHHHH STOP IT!” he fumed the last part after his wordless roar had ceased, staring at her vehemently from under furrowed brows, breathing heavily. Stop it, stop everything, please.

You could say that Zaria was quite surprised by the youngster's reaction at her helping him. It didn't seem that it was very much appreciated by the young male. Zaria didn't show any signs of shock, since his roar was something that instantly put her on edge and in a fighting position. Her hackles were raised, her head low in attacking mode and her body rigid. Even her teeth were slightly bared in response to his roar. She let out a growl back to him a tiny one. This was Zaria's reaction of being startled she would instantly go into a fighting mode ready to protect herself from any attack that might be coming her way.

Zaria bared her teeth as he kept staring at her, something that she saw slightly as a challenge. Scratch that she did see it as a challenge with her background. She kept her teeth bared and her fur raised. If Fitz would see her now he might be a bit startled by the sight of her standing in such a way across from Mason. She was ready to carry out an attack this instant but it was the thought of Fitz that held her back. Mason was his son, she couldn't just attack him, though the spicy lady was very close to doing so anyways. "I helped you," she huffed through her bared teeth, clearly a bit pissed that his reaction wasn't grateful. She had helped him. She had been amazingly nice, he should be thankful that she was even that nice to help him in the first place. Not yell at her. She definitely didn't deserve yelling.

Mason watched as her hackles rose and she eased into a fighting stance. Her beautiful fur bristled with anger. He hated her and loved her in that bittersweet moment. She had ruined everything. She had wormed her way into his dad's heart and stolen his alpha position. Mason's position. That was where he had been heading. Now he had no goal and she had snatched his heart and his father along the way.

With his paw tucked underneath him,Mason stared at her witheringly through orange eyes. She would attack him, wounded as he was by her teeth?  Probably. 

"You've never helped anyone" he seethed quietly before turning his back on her in an awkward manoeuvre and trying a few unsteady steps on three feet. With his back turned he felt uneasy. Teenage angst should not take precedent over protocol but he couldn't help it. She was pissing him off so bad. Without turning he did lower his tail a little bit. 

although he was very interested to see what his dad would do if Zaria attacked his son.

Zaria let out a snort in disbelief. Mason was plain right disrespectful. Her ears flattened even more when the teen spoke about her never helping anyone. Well, true. She never really helped others, but in this pack she wanted to help. Mason saying that to her it was something that hurt her. Zaria disliked being hurt and then the pup was foolish enough to turn his back to her. TO HER. Zaria let out a growl and tried to nip in his butt as a warning.

It wasn't a hard nip, just one to correct and warn him that she didn't appreciate his behavior at all in this moment. She was the Khaleesi and she was nice enough to help Mason with his paw before it would infect.

His stumbling steps were accompanied by a nip to his rear end. Mason’s light body flinched away from the further pain and his other three legs crumpled remorsefully underneath him. Soft white fur ricocheted with the filthy, hard ground. Without further thought for his anger, Mason gave in to self-pity. He curled his poorly leg under his muzzle and tucked his tail beneath himself. The young boy cowered low to the ground, ears flat against his skull in doubt and mild fear, waiting to see if another blow would come at him.


He couldn’t say anything, and instead kept his eyes fixed on his wound, which was still oozing blood, listening for warning signs that the beast behind him was going to attack again.

Zaria let her raised hackles fall when she saw the pile of despair before her. Her green eyes looked strict, drilling straight down in his eyes. The dominant female held her ears back like she normally would. His paw seemed to be still bleeding but Zaria wasn't reaching out for it anymore. Mason didn't seem to like that, but at least Zaria made her point that he was not showing respectable behavior.

A soft snort came from Zaria, smelling his fear. She then stepped back to give him space. She was under the impression she helped Mason, but that clearly wasn't the case. At least she had gotten her point across which might be quite of a shock for Mason. Zaria wasn't perfect, and se definitely wasn't always nice especially not when her pride was touched. With her actions she now had to live with the consequences. She let Mason be. Her point was not to scare or traumatize him just to get her own point across too. With that done she moved away without giving him a second glance.

Super interesting thread! I'm curious what Fitz would have to say about this when he finds out! I will leave it open for any counter reaction from Mason. If he wouldn't react then feel free to archive it! :)

He heard her snort, straining to hear any sound as he was doing. The soft sound of derision cut him to the quick, and he felt hurt well like blood in the recesses of his soul.  She padded away without a further movement towards him. Mason shuddered, curled in his awkward ball. Carefully he glanced over his shoulder, in time to see her agouti-patterned rear disappear from sight.

 

She was gone. She had hurt him, scolded him, bitten him, and now she was gone.

 

For the first time in a long time, Mason felt an unusual sensation coming over him. It took him a couple of quiet minutes to determine what it was. He felt lighter, and happier. His heart pounded more quietly and pleasantly. The pain in his paw throbbed, but in a way that reminded him what it was like to be unhurt, and to remind him to get better.

 

When Zaria had snapped at him, it appeared she had snipped the cord that linked them in Mason’s mind. The boy finally located the name behind the feeling flooding his body – relief.

 

With a smile, he got up and hobbled away in the opposite direction to the woman who had unintentionally caused a world of hurt.