Stone Circle you win or you die

i'm not putting this here for any other reason than i heard it on the radio just now xD

Exploring Easthollow's vast territory— despite acting as a normal and generally necessary task for newcomers— might've been a daunting or uninteresting feat to some, but for Rickon it was a pleasure trip. He was more than just a little happy to be a part of this pack; though, grateful, would probably be a more accurate term, as he had a penchant for being considerably happy in most places. He'd yet to spend any time with anyone besides Valette, but he didn't see this as a bad thing. Somebody had to teach him the name of all the Hollow's landmarks, and of its alpha, since it hadn't been given to him before.

Thinking about Steady now, and what he could possibly do to up his standing with him in the pack, Rickon traipsed towards Marino River. His dark fur didn't make nice with sunny days, so he planned to take a dip and then bask riverside until the peak of the sun's rays had passed.

It seemed that just when Philos was getting used to the packs old territory they had moved. Meaning him and most likely the other pack members would need to further explore this one. He didn't mind much though. Most of the time he was playing around with Adeline and not really doing anything important. It's not that he didn't want to help, it was more that not much bad happened around here it seemed.

Philos had stopped to drink at the river to relieve himself from the heat of the day. With his thick coat the peak of the day seemed to be the worst even if it wasn't summer anymore. He began to see the figure of a dark wold comming toward the river. Lifting his head from the water he wasn't sure who he was or if he was part of the pack. When they claimed the territory he thought he saw everyone, but he didn't see him.

But Philos always looked on the bright side so to the approtching stranger he asked "Hello there. May I ask who you are? I don't think I have seen you before."

As he neared the water, a grey and burly blob emerged before him, taking the shape of a grey and burly wolf by the time he had come near enough. The male, too, strode forward, and they met halfway with a question on the air meant for Rickon. "Howdy, partner," he greeted the older wolf blithely, dropping into a crouch and tucking back his ears in fleeting submission. The tip of his tail wagged in small switches, further encouraging the unknown Hollower to explore him freely. Understanding himself as the most subordinate member of this pack, he didn't mind submitting; in fact, he thought it was as necessary here as it had been in the Trenches.

"I'm Rickon, and you wouldn'tna met me. I'm brand new here, so don't sweat it," he said, smiling up at the male from the ground.

The stranger greeted Philos and proceeded to submit before him. Philos was puzzled and cocked his head to the side a bit. He knew what the other wolf was doing he just couldn't think why. No wolf had ever been submissive to Philos before. He had never held a rank high enough to recieve it he felt. He felt he was still new to the pack in some ways and that this wolf had no need to be submissive. 

The stranger proceeded to give his name and explain he as a new member to the pack. That explained it. Philos introduced himself "I'm Philos nice to meet you... oh... and by the way... you don't need to do that. Not to me anyway." he tolf Rickon

Rickon smiled a little sheepishly, easing out of his submissive posture and into a more appropriate stand. He was taller than the newly introduced Philos, but didn't at all have his weight or muscle tone. His packmate certainly wasn't a wolf he'd ever want to scrap with— rather, it'd be better if the male was always on his side. "It's habit," he admitted to the older male, shrugging his lean shoulders. "Back where I'm from when you're pack, you greet anyone higher then you on yer back, so as to let 'em know you truly respect their rank. I wasn't sure if I should get all the way on my back here, so I jus' kinda settled on a halfway point, I guess..." the country boy drifted, realizing he was rambling. "Well, anyway, my bad... So I only gotta do that when Steady comes around? What about Valette? Do I hop on my back for her, too, since she's beta?"

The newcommer Rickon explained that his submissionwas a force of habit due to his previious pack. He rose to a more neutral stance making PHilos feel a bit better. Rickon then asked if he needed to do it to Steady or Valette. Philos didn't think so but didn't want to speak for the two. "I'm not sure. I have never been submissive to them. Maybe lower my head out of respect, but they have never asked me to." 

Now that he was aquainted with Rickon PHilos began to walk back to the river to continue drinking. This time he walked into the water , deep enough that he didn't need to lower his head to drink. It felt good to cool down. His thick coat getting wet. He looked over to Rickon assuming he would follow him to the river. "the water feels soo nice. I get pretty hot in my coat." he said.

"Sweet! I'll give 'em a little curtsy, see how that goes," the boy grinned, watching as the broad male retreated towards the river. He wasn't sure at first if Philos simply wanted to be alone after that— though his thick tail wagged hopefully for the otherwise— so he was simply stuck, literally standing in a moment of indecision.

But before he could decide whether or not to move further downriver from the man, he turned to him, almost expectantly, and actually continued conversation! Rickon was more than thrilled; the social dope. "Yeah, that's exactly why I was headin' this way, but I ain't come to just to have a little tongue diddle— you just count yeRSELF LUCKY YOU GOTTA PALE COOAAAT!!" He had come charging towards the water, leaping at his final words, and then splashed massively into the Marino.

Philso turned his head when Rickon jumped into the water, not wanting to get any of it in his eyes. Philos laughed and joined in the fun by getting deeping in the water and shaking his coat. Spraying water all around as he did. Philos was really happy that with every new person in the pack he got a chance to meet, they were all friendly. The members of his pack always seemed nice and never treated anyone unfairly as far as Philos knew. His tail wagged but was more of it swaying on the surface of the river. 

As they splashed around he could see fish fleeing from them. Swimming past and inbetween their legs. He wished he had known that this river had fish in it. I would have saved him alot of time getting that fish for Adeline. Maybe he could bring her hear and help her catch one of her own. Philos followed up on Rickon's comment "It may not be as dark but it's alot thicker then yours." he said with a smile on his face and his tounge hung from his jaws.

"Yeah, I can tell," the dark wolf gurgled, dunking his head again and emerging with a furious shake to clear his ears. While water clung to Philos' heavy coat, causing it to float out around him and make him appear wider than normal, the liquid seemed to bead off of Rickon, making him look like a black-furred otter. "Where're you from, Philos? Were you born on that mountain y'all moved from?" he asked, paddling around in deeper water before splashing to an area he could stand.

Philos walked to shallower water. He then proceeded to lay down in the river with the slow current flowing over his legs and underbelly. It felt nice and relaxing. This also would allow most of him to dry off before getting out. He knew how heavy he would feel with the extra water weight. Rickon asked if he was born on the mountain. "No I only joined the pack a couple months ago. I'm from Alaska, its north west from these wilds." he said as he turned his head towards the direction of Alaska.

"Alaska," he echoed, wading over to where Philos lay and coming to sit in front of him with wide and interested green eyes. He felt much better in the water, swimming being one of his more favored past-times; he was sure to be in for quite a shock when he finally catches view of the ocean for the first time. "What's it like?" he asked, following the grey titan's motion in the direction of his homeland. "How long did it take to get here from there?"

Everyone seemed to fasinated from where Philos was from. He enjoyed other's curiosity in him and his home. Rickon asked what it was like and the first thing Philos thought of was the weather. "Well it gets a heck of alot colder up there. In some places, at curtain times of the year, the sun doesn't even rise in winter. Same thing with summer except it doesn't set." when Rickon asked how long the journey lasted Philos though for a bit. Trying to calculate. "Well if you did nothing but travel and rest it would take you about 3 weeks to get there. For me I obviously ate and didn't know where I would end up so... I would say it took about a month." It hadn't seemed that long to Philos thought. He just kept on walking till he found the wilds they live in now.

"That's insane!" he burst, unable to imagine endless days nor the alternative, endless nights. His tail wagged, splashing in the water as he considered such a concept, but had to change his train of thought as Philos mentioned how long it had taken him to arrive. "Yeah, that sounds 'bout how long it took me to come up this way. I'm from pretty far south— but unlike you, it's pretty damn hot where I was born. Hot all day an' night, and then durin' winter it's like somebody flips a switch and everything just freezes..." He drifted, remembering the icy incident that made him leave home, and quickly wanting to change the subject because of it. "D'you know why this pack left the mountain?" he asked, without trying to recall if he had asked this of Valette before or not.

Philos smiled seeing how his discription of his home amused Rickon. It seemed that where he was from was alost the opposite from Alaska. How interesting how two different wolves from different climates could still use a relaxing and cooling dip together. Philos couldn't imagine how surviving the heat Rickon desribled with his big coat. He might be confined to the night down there. 

Philo's thought's were interupted when he asked why the pack moved. "You know... I never asked. When everyone started moving I just followed. Thinking of it as alittle add on to my already long trip here. I don't think it was because of anything really bad or serious thought." Philos tried to explain to his best ability his lack of knowledge.

"Well, I guess since it wasn't mentioned it's not that big a deal," Rickon rationalized with a small shrug. He slid down to his belly in the water, rolling over in the shallows so that his entire body became soaked once more. Drenched, the dusky wolf returned to his stomach, giving his head a shake in order to free his ears of any clinging water. "I mean, unless it's so bad they decided not to tell anyone," he added, laughing at first, though it faded as he considered this could be a real possibility. "Heh, couldn't be... right?" the naive and uncertain wolf asked his new packmate, though he knew Philos didn't have much information himself.

Getting to his feet, and giving himself another cursory shake, he turned a grin on Philos. "How about a quick hunt, you an' me?"

Rickon agreed with Philos statment with a shrug. He rolled re soaking his fur and shaking it. Philos turned his head to if wouldn't go in his eyes. The dropples of water felt good on the top of his pelt that was drying. The remaining dropps landed on the sand and left ripples on the surface o the river. Rickon mind seemed to shift thinking the opposite could be possible. That they didn't know because it was really really bad. Philos always thought possitively and so in responce he said "If it was really bad, Steady moved us for good reason. To better the pack so it wouldn't effect us any longer or in the furutre. Whatever it may have been." he finished with a smile trying to comfort what fear Rickon might of had.

Then with another change it seemed Rickon had forgotten the whole thing an invited Philos to a hunt. Philos was a bit puzzled but at least he wasn't concerned about it anymore. He nodded in agreement and stood up to shake the remainign water off his pelt. "Sounds good to me." 

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We can fade here or you can finish. Then we can start a new thread for the hunt if you would like.

Rickon couldn't let a little thing like the past keep him down— especially a past he hadn't been a part of and wasn't aware of. And since food was the easiest way to distract him from any sort of troubling prospect, a hunt was of course his go-to activity, even if he was terrible at it. Grinning, he eagerly took up at Philos' side as they left the water and began a brisk trot into the deep of the Hollow's territory, so that Rickon could show his packmate just what sort of damage he could do as a participant hunter.