Swiftcurrent Creek does your daddy know

For @Scimitar, but all welcome. :)

Hunger clawed at her belly, rousing the youth from her sleep. Her coat was slowly gathering the scents of the creek and its inhabitants, and she had met more than a few of those she shared the territory with. Like it or not, it seemed that this place was now her home. Magpie still thought of herself as a slave to these outsiders, not having seen much of the fox-like wolf that had brought her back to the lands. They owed her nothing, and she owed them everything.

But she couldn't survive here long enough to repay her debts if she died of starvation first. She had hunted for herself — the small, quick game that was barely enough fuel to recoup the energy lost chasing them — but she craved heartier meat. Magpie knew where at least one of the caches were, having brought a kill back to earn the tolerance of these wolves. She did not have permission to take from it, but she didn't know if she needed it, either; but instinct and the lance of hunger in her belly drove the teen.

Coming upon the small clearing in which the mound existed, the youth lay her nose to the ground to sniff out the cache.

Since Rach is camping this weekend, I thought I'd sneak in here..!

Bazi had yet to meet the pack's newest recruit in person. Fox had arrived with the youth in tow one day, surprising her co-leader by allowing someone so young and inexperienced to join the ranks. Nightingale had been forced to prove her worth in combat, the Beta recalled, but she had been a sickly, half-blind little thing. This one seemed sturdier, somehow - like she might grow into a wolf worth keeping.

Bazi all but stalked the youngster to the nearest cache, keeping considerable distance between them in order to do so - white was difficult to disguise, and she was forced to lurk behind rocks and keep the direction of the wind in mind in order to pull it off. When Magpie eventually dropped to the ground near a known cache, she was forced to give up the stalking game; it would be impossible to get any closer without being seen.

Bazi stepped out from her hiding place and donned traditional 'leader garb', ears perked up and tail swaying gently behind her. She closed the distance between the two wolves at a leisurely trot, putting on her most neutral smile when Magpie was close enough to make out the details of her face. "Will you be contributing back to that?" she asked, meaning the cache.

Sure! :D And @Scimitar, you're still free to pop in whenever you have time!

Her snout had only just bumped the small mound that was one of the pack's caches, when an older female seemed to appear out of nowhere to reprimand her. Magpie whined softly, apologetically, before backing away several feet. Her luck with pack mates had not been the greatest thus far; one screaming that she didn't want children, and the other determined to put the youth in her place despite the fact Magpie knew exactly where she stood in this place. They had just been subordinates, from what the juvenile could surmise — but the white creature before her had a presence that demanded respect, in a way similar to that of the red female that had brought her back.

Magpie opened her jaws as if to speak, but no sound was loosed; it seemed to catch in her throat. She could replenish the cache with small game, but there was no way she could bring back anything heartier alone at her age. The female before her would know this, and so the youth took the question as a firm, No. You are not allowed. Unsure of what to do, now, the juvenile sank to her haunches and did her very best to look guilty in the hopes it would garner some mercy.

His pace held no true rush – he had scoured the borders earlier, his eyes drifting every so often to the direction of The Sunspire – a place he had once called home, and yet now it loomed darkly so close to them with wolves of questionable sanity and reason. His time spent there had not given him the drawn presence of home, and so he did not mourn the loss of the free terrain – if anything, it brought forward the consideration that Neverwinter Forest would likely one day be claimed.. and that, for reasons unknown to him, clenched his gut.

One ear swiveled forward as he heard the distinct voice of a pack mate he not only enjoyed the company of, but particularly sought it. Of course, his direction shifted, bringing him closer to her, and as his eyes fell upon the ivory Beta and the youthful girl she questioned, he withheld a light frown, curious to where the she-wolf was going with this.

The girl was not even close to becoming a yearling, and so blinking, he awaited, curious to what her demand was truly about – would she offer the dark youth a lesson in hunting.. or a lesson in pack manners?

The youth shrank back as if stung by the words and Bazi bit her tongue, killing the smile. She never came across well - not like Scimitar, or Tuwawi, both of whom invited you in with the buttery softness of their voice. The Beta's voice was cold and brusque, and her choice of words rarely helped the situation.

"No - eat, please," she amended, giving her head a vigorous shake. Even whilst apologizing, her tone was curt and unwelcoming. "I was only going to offer to help you. I'm not that strong a hunter myself, so I could use the help -" Before she could dig herself into a deeper hole, a familiar scent turned Bazi's head towards the approaching male. No doubt he had heard the entire exchange - including her embarrassing admission, made doubly shameful by the fact that he had just led the entire pack in a hunt. The leader's ears fell flat and her mouth became a tight, black line.

To the larger female's credit, Magpie likely would have reacted in the same matter no matter who had found her first. The juvenile thought of herself as a slave here, rather than a true member of the pack — at least, that's what all the stories told by the Corvidae had taught her about outsiders. She must prove herself and must not become too much of a burden, or they would see it fit to rid themselves of her by whatever means necessary. But even when Bazi spoke again, Magpie could only hear the tone of what was spoken and it drowned out the words. A test. The juvenile kept her mouth firmly shut, and tried to keep the drool from betraying her struggle.

She didn't notice the male approach, so focused on not being eaten by the female.. but Magpie did find herself narrowing her eyes despite her fear at the assumption that she wasn't a very good hunter. Never mind that it was true — after all, she had only just started to learn in the weeks prior to her separation from the Corvidae.

The moment of silence hung between them – his presence was noted by Bazi, and rather than being welcomed, it almost seemed as if he had intruded upon her. She was hard to read at the best of times – playful and doting to her pack one moment and then coaxing a fight from him during his act of submission the next. Bazi was a mystery.. one that he very much wanted to solve. Fox was another – though her straight forward nature was almost a breath of fresh air than anything else.

His own ears mirrored Bazi’s – his eyes studying the curve (or lack thereof at this very moment) of her mouth. Perhaps the best decision would have been to sweep away in that very moment, but instead his eyes fell upon the dark youth, now too nervous at their company (had she even seen him yet?) to focus on her stomach.

Gently, he moved forward, avoiding Bazi and the signals she now gave off – stopping at an area, his muzzle lowered as he nosed at the loose dirt of a cache. Beginning to undig, he made to move slower than normal – his size had intimidated others before, and given the assumed nature of the near yearling, he did not wish to have her flee.

Despite the male's careful movements, when Magpie finally noticed him — at the sound of his digging — her every instinct told her ambush, ambush! and so the youth began to slowly back away. Her eyes nervously darted between the larger wolves, desperate to catch any sudden movements before they might spell her doom, until the pounding in her chest became too much to bear. She was young and flighty, naive to the world and aware of it; all she had to judge these new situations by were the stories the Corvidae had told of outsiders. And they were not good. When the timing seemed right, the youth scrambled away, breaking into a sprint when she gained her footing.