Swiftcurrent Creek Fires

@Leaf :D

Life at Swiftcurrent Creek had settled into a pleasant schedule. The pups were hilariously cute and the pack was thriving, new members seemed to arrive every minute at their borders.

His life now went in a boring cycle and he hadn't met any newcomers in a while or had fought anyone and today he decided to meet at least one wolf that was new to the pack. He wondered how they'll be like so he trotted to the creek and drank before trotting besides the creek with the flow. Most Swiftcurrent Creek wolves stuck to the lake as it was a source of fresh water and food, so if you were out to find one of the Creek wolves, your best chance was to stick by the creek.

As he walked, his thoughts wandered to his siblings and he wondered how they'd settle in in their pack. Hopefully they were happy there, Shadow himself didn't like the territory or the alpha. The alpha wasn't bad or anything and was no where near as brutal as his father but Shadow felt that he didn't belong in that pack at all. Saying goodbye to his siblings had been hard, especially to Flame.

Entertainment was on her way as she appeared in form of a little red wolf, bouncing alongside the creek. She seemed particularly fixated on the rushing waters as something precious to her bobbed along the waves. Occasionally she would snatch out in hopes of rescuing said precious thing, but every time she did she would be just a little short. She blamed it entirely on her small body, but truth of the matter was, she was still a little bit wary of the creek that had once taken her for a ride. Even as she thought these unselfish thoughts, one of the baby raccoons she had been raising rode the waves on what appeared to be a makeshift raft. Ironically it was made of many leaves. When she caught sight of her pack mate, she barked at him for assistance. She needed to save her baby from a certain watery grave.

Shadow wandered beside the creek when he caught sight of Leaf. Her eyes were on the waters and then suddenly she would snatch out at the water but would stop short. He noticed a baby racoon riding the waters with what looked like a bunch of leaves, not really stable he noted. Then she raised his eyes and caught sight of him.

Shadow neared the waters and waited rather impatiently at a small distance from where the racoon was now, as it slowly neared, he raised a paw and easily scooped it out of the water like a fish and not too gently placed it on the ground, away from the Creek's rushing waters.

Then he turned his gaze upon the little red wolf.

Rushing over to the wolf who had rescued her little cub, Leaf quickly recognized who it was. However, his name seemed to have slipped her mind. Ignoring this fact for a moment, she barked her thanks and went over to the baby raccoon. The little fellow was trembling out of fear, but it only took a few generous licks for him to calm down. Behind the little red wolf, a trail of four other baby raccoons came along. They encircled the found baby raccoon and began to swarm him with affection and reprimand. "Hi," she said with a smile dimpling her face. "I thought I had lost him for good. You're a pretty good fisher, aren't you?" she said as she mimicked his earlier motions with a swinging paw. "Can you teach me something? I'm awful." The little wolf had never boasted of her hunting skills and for good reason. She only hoped her poor skills had not been readily apparent at the most recent pack hunt.

Shadow's face remained impassive as he studied the five baby raccoons before he turned his silver gaze onto Leaf and listened, amused. It was obvious that Leaf wasn't a really good fisher from her attempts to save the baby raccoon and she seemed wary of the creek's waters as if something had happened to her before. He didn't question her, though, he wasn't one to dwell into one's history.

"If you want to." he replied. "But its hard work and takes patience and practice," Amusement flickered over his features before it vanished, only a faint glow in his eyes told of its presence. "It took me ages to excel at it, I'm not the most patient wolf you would find."

"But if you really want to try..." He shrugged.

The little red wolf laughed. Never before had she met a wolf so unwilling to teach or to help a lower-ranked wolf learn. "On second thought, that's okay," she said, implying that she did not want to bother him. Looking over Shadow and noting his well-muscled body, the little red wolf decided to use a different tactic to engage her pack mate. "Is there any other way I can thank you?" she said, "Or anything you would rather do?" She was also curious as to how he was getting along in the pack but decided to hold that question for later. If her suspicions were right, her pack mate was looking for something to do. It was not often that one caught a wolf merely meandering by the creek side unless he was brooding or frankly was bored. Such was the simplification that ran through her mind. She blamed her baby raccoons for distracting her from more complex musings.

Shadow had never been a good teacher to any wolf before, he was more like a general in command of an army instead of a teacher teaching stuff to another wolf. He had never never been patient enough to calmly coach another wolf and honestly if they wanted to learn from him, they better know what they were in for.

Directing his attention back to Leaf, he shrugged. "Is there anything you want to do?" He gave nothing away about what he was doing hanging around at the edge of the creek because his purpose there was already fulfilled. He had found a newcomer, the only thing he had to do now was to get to know this wolf better.

Maybe it was the events of the past couple of weeks, or maybe it was the fact one of her baby raccoons had nearly drowned, but when her pack mate returned the question, Leaf could only attribute it to passiveness. She did not like passive males. They annoyed her to no end and made her want to discipline them--or just punish them. Motioning for her baby raccoons to leave, she licked her lips. "No, I insist. You decide," she said with a smile twitching with irritation. When it came down to it, Shadow had more authority of her than her him, but even then she tried and raged against the machine.

Shadow eyed her warily before shrugging. "Border patrol." he said coldly and flicked his tail sideways before turning around and trotting away, he didn't check to see if Leaf was following him because he didn't really care if she didn't. Perhaps on his patrolling he would find another newcomer but the chances of that were slim.

He trotted outwards, his ears flicking and he sniffed the air for any signs of intruders or Sunspire wolves.

Feeling miffed by Shadow's sudden coldness, she merely gave a "humph" before falling into place behind him. She did not understand the possible correlation between his disinterest and her earlier impatience. There should not have been a problem, after all! He did not strike her as petty. Anyways, she would patrol the borders just like he wanted. She bet she could even sniff the air better than he! Eager to show him that she had something to offer him and the pack, she hurriedly rushed over to a particularly prime spot and released a small squirt of loyalty and territorial-ness. "How's that?" she asked. She would have asked him if he could teach her how to border patrol, but she now knew he would be of little willingness or use. Her eyes slyly glanced at him, curious to see his reaction.

[size=medium][/size]A flash of surprise and amusement went through his silver eyes but was gone in a second instead a faint smile took its place. "Ah.." he murmured as he padded over. Gently he moved Leaf from where she was and raised a hind leg to squirt his own urine to mark their territory. "Good." he said nodding at her.

He then scratched the spot beside the piss with his paws. "Every time you finish re-marking the border you should do that as that would increase and add more of our scent. The scent glands between our toes."

He flicked his tail asking her to follow him as he continued on his path, eyes warily scanning the trees as he sniffed seeing if any outsiders had intruded into their territory.

It seemed her pack mate was easily won. Pleased that he was no longer being cold towards her, at least for now, the little red wolf nodded with a hum and an "oh, I see." She did not remember the last time she had been so intent on proving her loyalty to the pack, and quietly she wondered if there was any meaning to it. Pacing around the area where they had marked the borders, she turned her head to face The Sunspire. Her stomach slowly dropped as she recalled memories with the big, black wolf. "Do you think they'll ever attack us?" she said in a near whisper, immediately feeling guilty. It was not as if she wanted the other pack to intrude, but the thought of seeing him again was almost irresistible. Of course, she would have wanted to see him under better circumstances, but those simply did not exist anymore.

Shadow followed her gaze to The Sunspire and his tail twitched uneasily and his body grew tense as if he was expecting someone to jump out and attack. He had never recalled a time when he had been this loyal to his pack, so intent to protect and defend the inhabitants of Swiftcurrent Creek. Never had he felt this way with his natal pack. His thoughts spun rapidly before settling back to the subject of The Sunspire.

He wondered why Leaf brought that up, it was a dangerous time for them and The Sunspire, neither knowing what the other would do.

"Its a possibility." he murmured softly, eying to small red wolf. "Is there something wrong? I won't judge."

"Nothing at all," she said, sensing that Shadow was suspicious. Though they were pack mates, and he even many ranks above her, she did not trust him with such information. Not that she really trusted anyone. Anyways, he should not have thought anything of her words! It was a natural fear to think that the neighboring pack might attack one day, especially considering Fox had given orders not to be on friendly terms with them. Puckering her black lips, she then looked slyly at Shadow. "Do you think something is wrong?" she nearly reiterated, though there was a playfulness to her tone. Sidling up towards him, she smiled. "I won't judge, either."

Shadow let out a genuine laugh as she returned his own question. "No, at least not yet.". He sighed as he continued the trek towards the border, this time more determined to check if anyone, anything had intruded into the pack's territory.

He stopped and remarked the border again, motioning Leaf to do the same. He hoped that the wolves of The Sunspire would not attack yet, but everything was possible.

Do you mind if we fade this to black? -going to be absent soon!-

Leaf chuckled to herself as she realized Shadow was redoubling his efforts to watch the borders, if only because of her suggestive tones. Still, his efforts also caused her to experience some anxiety: what if another pack really did intrude? Furrowing her brows, the little red wolf obediently followed her superior's orders and once more left an inedible mark on the lands. Or she tried to make it as indelible as possible. Scent was always easily overpowered and could fade over time, but Leaf was certain she would be here for much, much longer. True, she still felt that someone was calling her to leave, to take part of other adventures, but that would only be until the end of summer. She still had so much time here at Swiftcurrent Creek.

I don't mind.

Shadow sighed quietly as they continued on their way, he'd thought that he would only rest and recover here before setting off again on his journey and adventures but once he had settled in in Swiftcurrent Creek, he felt like that this was the pack he was looking for all along. But Shadow still felt the urge to go on another adventure, he wondered if he should, after all he had traveled for the majority of his life.

He didn't know what to do just yet so he'll stay in Swiftcurrent Creek for a bit more and maybe by that time he'll know whether to stay ins pack or continue on his travels.