He made his way to the river that spilled into the ocean. Lowering his head, he intended to drink his fill, but stopped quickly. The salt water had mixed in with the fresh water at this point, as was evident in the taste. He went a few more meters upstream, and tried again, this time finding fresh water. Sitting back on his haunches, he looked towards Horizon Ridge. He could not make the mistake of trying to go there to seek out Verrine or Julooke just yet. He would only get himself, and maybe them, in trouble. He was torn between his loyalty to his family and his pack. However, the loyalty to his pack was beginning to get breaks in it. It was faltering. His mind was in turmoil and he had no idea what to do.
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Making the trips between Horizon Ridge and Stavanger Bay was becoming a regular routine for the platinum Viking who tried to split his time when he could between claiming the bay — with the support and help of his pack as they, too, made the trek between the lands — and taking care of the duties expected of him, while studiously guarding not only the borders but pissing scent warnings when he noted the bear to ward his wolves off of getting too near it in Horizon Ridge. His sleeping schedule had been reduced to power naps which, evidently, were enough to get him by. He figured he would rest either when the Bay was claimed and his pack was settled within the safety of it’s borders and far away from the Isle wolves and the cursed land of the Ridge, or he would rest when he was dead. Whichever came first.
The Ridge wolves had been quiet about their uprooting as, gradually, they moved pieces of their life to Stavanger Bay, for the simple fact that Ragnar had no intentions of broadcasting their intent to the Isle wolves or the bear. While Pump’s body had been dealt with and the blood had gradually washed from the sands where she had taken her last breath Ragnar sometimes caught a lone trail of paw prints too large for a wolf that the tide had not managed to erase. Given this he had also warned his wolves off of the shore, patrolling it alone himself, knowing that perhaps even that could end badly if the bear happened to catch him.
Next, they would be burying his body if he was not careful until they were ready to move for good.
Eyes squinted as he had began to head out in the direction of the Bay, pausing as he caught sight of a wolf drinking from the Totoka River. That, in and of itself was not a rare sight, after all, it was a fresh water source. What bothered Ragnar was that he scented heavily of Majesty and the Isle wolves telling Ragnar all he needed to know of him. The Viking approached with caution, hackles bristled as he prepared to chase him from the lands as he had promised Majesty he would. As long as the Ridge wolves were still Horizon Ridge wolves he intended to keep good to his promise and warning to the foolhardy Alpha of the Isle. Something, namely Ragnar’s unquenchable curiosity, stopped him from approaching with out right hostility.
This had to be the leader of Horizon Ridge. This was the one wolf he needed to impress if he wanted to see his family on a regular basis, or even join them. My name is Beric, he said. I'm family of Verrine and Julooke. I had been looking for them for some time, and only just found them several days ago. He hoped the explanation would allow him some leeway to be where he was, but he didn't really count on it. He knew the Ridge wolves were pissed at Majesty, and therefore the pack. Hell, he was a little pissed at Majesty, too. In a leap of courage, he continued, I was hoping I might be able to see them from time to time. It was the least he wanted. However, his current opinion of Majesty's decision-making skills would make it easier for him to be persuaded to want more. He didn't dare ask just yet, though.
A soft snort left Ragnar’s flared, black, leathery nostrils when the male responded, in an equally as calm voice, that he believed Majesty had understood the warning perfectly. There was nothing in the other man’s tone to suggest sarcasm yet Ragnar was suspicious of it all the same. Just because, as far as Ragnar was aware, the wolves had not hunted on the River or in the Forest — and technically he had included Sea Lion Shore on that list as well just to be an ass and make a point that just because they used it to traverse back and forth from the mainland didn’t make it theirs for it, too, at times had been hunting grounds for the Ridge &mdash was not enough to convince Ragnar that they were going to be good neighbors when they had made the decision to park their three ring circus on the Ridge’s doorstep. Frankly, with Pump’s death and the bear and the whole damn situation with the Isle at the very forefront of the Viking’s mind he was not in any sort of generous mood. Not to anyone, but the Isle wolves especially.
Not to mention the claim that the Ridge wolves had been trespassing by the woman who had greeted them on the Sea Lion Shore had led Ragnar to the belief that Majesty’s own wolves didn’t even know their own borders and he did not put it past the earthen kissed man to disregard the nifty little warning — the only warning he was ever going to get — from the Viking. In fact, he was lucky at the time Ragnar hadn’t been Alpha of the Ridge because the savage wouldn’t have even granted him the courtesy of a warning seeing as how Majesty had not seen fit to grant them any kind of warning that they were moving in so close.
Despite Ragnar’s animosity towards the man’s leader he lent him a ear (perhaps his time as Jarl paid off in more ways than he realized) when an introduction was given. Beric. It was a simple name, one that he felt he could speak without butchering with his accent. Too badly, at least, anyway. Ragnar did not return the courtesy; at least not yet. There was a saving grace to be found in the Isle man’s next words speaking that he was family of Julooke and Verrine. At first, Ragnar didn’t believe him but the more he thought about it, knowing that they had not given their names when they had spoken to the woman, that the only way he would likely know their names was if he was telling the truth. Silence was left to greet the man as he explained his situation and then asked for a favor of Ragnar. Permission to see them from time to time. Instantly, his suspicion rose back up like bile in his throat.
After the shit Ragnar had been dragged through lately, with the Isle’s intrusion, Pump’s untimely death, and with the blood hungry bear stalking through his land of which could strike at any of them at any given second they lingered there he almost had to laugh at the irony of being asked for a favor. As if he had any favors to give. As if he wanted to give a favor to an Isle wolf of whom did not do anything for him but threaten the lively hood of not only his pack but his children simply because eventually, they would ceased to heed his warning and be competing with them for land, literally stealing food from the mouths of his children, of the Ridge's future children.
Despite the absolute ire and bitterness of the Viking’s thoughts, of the contempt for the man’s pack he did not have the energy to throw everything he thought in the man’s face …and besides if he truly was related to Julooke and Verrine — who were two of Ragnar’s best — barring him access from the two of them would only take their trust in him away. He would have understood in that situation, being a family man, himself. There was an opportunity here, Ragnar had became aware of, perhaps, if he chose to seize it. What was the worst Beric could do? Turn him down? He couldn’t be too cruel, of course, that was if he truly wanted Ragnar’s permission to see Verrine and Julooke without being chased from their borders if he decided his loyalty was firm where it stood with Majesty.
There was always the chance that he wanted to be with his family more than a bunch of strangers, however and it was that bond that Ragnar chose to zero in on.
Beric wasn't expecting a positive answer to his question about visiting his family, so he was extra surprised when the deal he got in return was to join Horizon Ridge. His eyes opened wide and his ears stood at attention. This wolf had his undivided attention now. Whether he intentionally did it or not, he had just told Beric he was the leader of the Ridge wolves. He would certainly be the one to speak with about joining, but Beric was cautious. He was wrong to put his loyalty in Majesty, and he didn't want to make that mistake again. That would certainly be an ideal situation, he began. Forgive me if I'm a little gun shy, but I recently put my loyalty into a wolf who only had himself in mind, and the safety of his pack came last on his priority list. Beric had no qualms of telling it how it was at this point, especially when it came to his current leader. Verrine and Julooke are good judges of character, though, he added thoughtfully. And they are loyal to you. Still, he was just a slight bit reluctant. Beric was a wolf of his word, and he had promised Majesty his loyalty... Then again, Majesty had promised to be a competent leader, and he had failed.
Ragnar was slow to trust feeling more and more how he did back in the Cove, when trust was a thing better left earned than freely given. He had given it freely to his brothers and both of them had stabbed him in the back now, he had given it to Gavriil only to have his considered friend leave without so much as a word (which he was extremely angry about as well). If Ragnar let his instincts truly have their full way with him he wouldn’t trust anyone; but being slow to trust didn’t mean he didn’t have to give chances. Currently, they were something of enemies, for Ragnar could only imagine what lies Ypres spread about them, given that she had thought they had been trespassing and threatened them when they were all on free territory, and what Majesty in turn had told them about Ragnar and his. Surely to distrust, maybe that they were heathens (nothing Ragnar hadn’t heard before), the imagined list went on and on. As far as Ragnar cared he had only been doing what any wolf who cared about his wolves would do: deliver a message, make it clear, give a reluctant benefit of the doubt because he had no other choice at the time and go back to his usual business. After all, as far as Ragnar cared to see the situation it was the Isle wolves that had been in the wrong. They had parked on the Ridge’s doorstep not the other way around.
Ragnar, weary of the war he fought with himself over the situation, would be glad to put it far behind him when they relocated to Stavanger Bay. His dislike of Majesty would probably never truly fade but out of sight out of mind as they said.
Ragnar was too far away to notice the widen in the other male’s eyes, though he depicted a slight shift in demeanor accompanied by the perking of the Isle man’s ears. Ragnar gave Beric his rapt attention as he spoke that it would be an ideal situation but explained why he was hesitant to accept it quickly. It was his cautiousness that Ragnar admired, the questioning of an offer that probably, as it stood between two maybe enemies, sounded a little too good to be true. After all, Beric had no way to tell that Ragnar was being sincere (despite that he was) and Ragnar did not blame the other. He, too, would question. Head canted to the side as Ragnar processed Beric’s words, basically calling Majesty selfish. This, of course, perked the Viking’s unyielding curiosity which always seemed to get the better of him. How convenient, he thought and not for the first time, it would be to trade his eyes to acquire knowledge as Odinn had though he had once admitted to Thistle that he would trade much more. Even then, though, Ragnar knew, his curiosity as the All-Father’s, wouldn’t ever be truly sated.
Subtly, or perhaps not so subtly, it was Ragnar's way of asking what had happened simply because he was curious.
But the choice was up to Beric. It wasn’t one that Ragnar could make for him. Granted, they knew little of each other but everything had a beginning, had to start somewhere, after all. He did not tell Beric the Ridge wolves were relocating just in case he decided to stay with Majesty of which Ragnar would not begrudge him. Every man made his own decisions and lived to deal with the consequences of them. It was simply the way of the Gods and of the world.
It was the perfect solution for Beric- to join the pack that Verrine and Julooke now called home. Since he first found out they were there, he had humored the idea of attempting to join. However, he never would have expected to be offered a position within the pack so quickly. The other male asked what had been so much more important than the pack, and Beric took a moment to think before answering. Part of him wondered if the other male wanted him for his knowledge of the other pack. It would be ideal for him if Beric were to give certain information about the other pack, especially if anyone was thinking about an attack. However, even as his loyalty to Majesty was faulting, betraying someone like that was not in the cards. He would leave the Island wolves because of differences of leadership, but he would not do it to be another wolfs' pawn in a war. He supposed, however, he could answer without giving too much specific information. What else? he asked before answering it himself. A woman.
Beric's mood took a change to a little melancholy. I'm glad they've found a home where they belong. I knew they had been traveling for a while, and Julooke was really looking for a pack she and Verrine really fit into easily. He understood loosing her parents was probably the worst day of her life, and it probably wasn't until she joined his pack that she finally began to get a sense of herself back. That was really all Beric needed to know to make his decision. Will you give me a little time to sort some things out before I join you? He was no coward. He would tell Majesty his intentions, say his goodbyes like the honorable wolf he was. He would not slink out in the middle of the day without so much as a word. He didn't think he owed anything to Majesty at this point, but he did owe it to himself. He would not let this set back turn him into a someone he was not.
Ragnar’s curiosity for the information was nothing but that: curiosity. He may not have liked Majesty personally but the platinum colored Viking had no interest in using it against him. If he wanted a war he would have started it one as soon as they had moved in. Their presence irritated him the most while he was in Horizon Ridge’s territories but when he went to Stavanger Bay the Jarl could have cared less what they did because they weren’t near him and his and they were far enough away that if they had to come anywhere near the Bay to hunt Ragnar would kill them because the distance between the Isle and the Bay was far enough that coming near them was entirely unnecessary. Besides, Ragnar was far from a reckless leader and would not call war when he did not need too. He had warned how trespassers would be handled, and he had warned that any Isle wolves caught hunting on the Ridge’s long established hunting grounds having been established long since the Isle was even an idea, Ragnar suspected, and that was that. The Head Warden had felt it was common sense but well within his rights to say nevertheless. Besides, Ragnar was tired of letting his territoriality keep him from enjoying the time with his children. He spent more times patrolling and keeping an eye on the free territories than he had with them and as a result they were greedy for his attention and it appeared to be, fought over him trying to undermine the other to steal a slice of his precious time.
That wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
A woman. Women were a man’s undoing, Ragnar knew from experience having a long line of conquests in his shadow, the first having been his brother’s own wife. Of course when he had been fooling around with Tyra Ragnar had not been anything more important than a lead Berserker and had nothing to lose. The situations were entirely different, as far as the silver man was concerned. It was a vague response — he had been hoping for something more specific but he was able to draw assumptions that she wasn’t, at least, of the Isle pack or else one of his loyal wolves …or supposed to be loyal wolves wouldn’t have actually considered joining the Ridge.
And then after a moment remembered that via his habit of never giving his name unless it was necessary he smirked coyly and added,
He seemed confident in giving Beric the time he needed, and Beric was grateful. He didn't want to slink out like deserter. He did have pride, after all. Besides, if he left without even a word, it may appear that he thought what he was doing was wrong. Beric had every confidence that he could no longer follow a leader who put his pack in unnecessary danger, and because he felt he was right in that sense, he would speak up to Majesty. Beric nodded in agreement, This meeting will stay between us, I assure you. He would have been leaving Wheeling Gull Isle whether or not this wolf had offered him a position in Horizon Ridge, so it was irrelevant that he just happen to be joining the Ridge wolves. Could you not tell Verrine and Julooke, as well? I'd like to surprise them, His features softened into a smile, his mood lifting a little at the thought of finally being reunited with them. He let him in on the fact they were relocating, as well. He wondered if it was because of the Isle wolves, but his leader didn't strike him as the kind to be driven out of his home by a neighboring pack. There must have been another reason, but Beric didn't bother to ask. He was simply glad he knew where they were going in case they left before he got there. Ragnar, as he finally introduced himself, seemed to genuinely want him in the pack. If he had only wanted information, he may have used Beric's relationship with Verrine and Julooke to get it. But, he hadn't. He had simply offered him a place in the pack, one-upping Beric's request of visitation. It's nice to meet you, he responded. And it was. If he hadn't, he would be leaving the Isle pack with no where to go.
A firm nod in good faith was given when Beric promised that he would not tell a soul about the meeting. In truth, it hadn’t been the meeting Ragnar had been worried about but more of the bit about Stavanger Bay but he wasn’t going to be specific. Ragnar suspected Majesty already didn’t like him and while he, for the record, really didn’t care what the other man thought of him, he didn’t want to bring unnecessary bloodshed onto his wolves because if a war was instigated Ragnar wouldn’t ignore it. He wasn’t the type of man to let a clear act of war go. So perhaps Beric’s willingness to keep the entire meeting a secret wasn’t exactly a bad thing, given how high the tensions (and rightfully so) were between the two packs. The seniority pack and the newbie one. Maybe Ragnar was a bully but he held no feelings towards the titles that had been thrown his way. He was just trying to survive and ensure the survival of his pack and small family, which as far as he was concerned, was what any one would do, no matter if it hurt the feelings of the creatures on the opposite ends of that single minded drive or not. Ragnar didn’t care about anyone else other than his own wolves. Especially not when their existence threatened the existence of his own pack.
It was the same principle with alliances with other packs, which was why the Viking detested the idea unless it was clearly beneficial to him and his though majority of the times they weren’t.