Stone Circle trouble me

@Ira

King gaped open-mouthed at the massive creatures that were gathered just a hundred yards away. There were a dozen of them, easily, and they were built like giant caterpillars except with longer legs and horns. The male had never seen anything like it, and he was a bit frightened by the beasts even despite knowing they were herbivores - the scent of their scat had confirmed this much.

But no matter how scary they were, King couldn't help but hang around and watch them - and be mightily impressed! Moose were still taller, but moose didn't gather together like this, either. In his mind, King likened them most to the creatures that the man village had kept in their pens. But those had been softer and smaller, and with less fur to guard their flesh.

The male settled down to watch, ears pressed forward and fur bristling uncertainly as he tracked their every movement. They certainly weren't very exciting creatures, except for being so large.

note for myself that this takes place around the 20th when Ira returns

Ira was happy to be back, satisfied with the knowledge she gained during her travels. She had the chance to meet wolves from allied packs and learn more about the surrounding territories, but being back on her own turf, her home, was a relief. A lot happened on her journey, but she was more troubled by the fact that so much had happened here too.

A cougar hurt several pack mates and killed that older wolf that had joined just before she left. It was a lot to take in, especially knowing who was involved. Ira still held mixed feelings towards her father, but he had protected Valette at a time when she could not, and for that she was greatful. Apparently Greyback was now confined to a den, although she has yet to visit to see the extent of his injuries, other then what she was told. As soon as she heard news about the attack, the mountain wolf had picked up her patrols with more alertness and an extra strict schedule. One of which now led her to the hill that overlooked the plains.

She noticed a new scent, although it was mingled with the wolves from Easthollow. Perhaps it was another newcomer? It would not take her long to climb the hill, a long wolf with a lightish pelt sitting at the top. His gaze fixed to the distant scenery and creatures that wandered in the valley. Ira allowed herself to venture closer, now getting a good look at what caught the male's attention. First time seeing them, huh? She could only assume that was the reason for his shock. She recalled her first time seeing the large mounds of hair larger than a boulder. No creature matched them in the mountains and it took a while to grow use to their scale. I take it you are new to Easthollow.

At the sound of another's approach, King cast a quick glance over his shoulder and welcomed the wolf with an idle wag of his tail before his gaze was drawn back to the bison. Since seeing them, he'd been relucant to take his eyes off them at all. "Yes ma'am," he agreed, his voice quite a bit less formal than those words usually called for. "I can't believe the size of them. And all together like this - we don't have anything like it where I came from."

He turned his head back toward the stranger, but it took a moment to drag his eyes away from the beasts to actually look at her. "What are they? Do you hunt them?" he asked, eyes alight with curiosity. They looked almost too big to make a meal of - but there were quite a few more wolves in Easthollow than there were in his natal pack.

The female was almost surprised when the newcomer refered to her as ma'am. As far as she knew, she was the only wolf in Easthollow to use such formalities, but she was pleased by it none the less. They are quite large. Fairly dangerous if you do not watch your step too. Ira was not expecting a long conversation so she remained standing by the male opposed to taking a seat. They are called bison and we do hunt them. We usually look to other prey though since it takes quite a bit of work to take one down. Worth the effort though, the meal was quite satisfying.

She recalled the large hunt they had recently. It was different from the hunting she was use to as she normally fell into a fighters roll and if she did hunt it was usually smaller creatures that took less wolves. She was not too sure when they would attempt taking down another one of the large creatures, but if she had to guess it would not be until Valette picked out another weak link. What prey are you use to hunting?

"I can imagine," he said dryly, turning his attention back to the bison. They looked docile from where he stood, but so did moose until you got them riled. Still, he was looking forward to trying their meat, which he knew meant he'd have to take the good with the bad - to eat, you had to hunt. And hunting was something that King usually enjoyed, but he couldn't deny that the bison seemed rather dangerous.

"Mountain sheep," he replied. "When the family's all together, anyway. And then small game like hares and pheasants when we hunt alone. We try to scavange as much as we can. Smaller packs are better off that way."

That was what he'd been taught, anyway.

"What about you? Are you from Easthollow?" She certainly seemed knowledgable about the territory.

The male's response was not too much of a shocker. Small game was usually pretty similar no matter where you lived. He mentioned the mountains though and she had to think back to her time spent in the pack she grew up with. She too came from mountains, but sheep were not as common. She could recall seeing the fuzzy creatures a few times though.

She blinked noticing he had asked another question and shook her head. I have been with Easthollow for a season now. I joined at the end of the summer but grew up in a mountain range far from here. What about you? Are you from the area, or far away lands? Ira recalled seeing mountains during her travels through Teekon. Perhaps the mountains he resided in are from a nearby range opposed to the vast distance she had to travel?

So there was more than one wolf around who hadn't been born into the pack. It seemed as though Easthollow was cobbled together out of dispersal wolves much like himself. That was interesting, and comforting, too. He felt a little less like an outsider, now.

"Oh, not too far from here - but I wouldn't say I'm from the area, either. My homeland is a few week's travel from this place," he explained, turning away from the bison so that they would stop distracting him from company. "Easthollow is very different. It was just my parents and my siblings in my old pack, and we were rarely out of sight of each other. Here, everything is so... big." He cast a glance over his shoulder. "... and far apart."

He missed the closeness of his family, but he knew they needed the space his leaving had provided. Besides, he'd only just begun to put down roots in Easthollow. Things would get better for him, soon. "I apologize - I didn't even ask your name. I'm King, of Elkbone-by-the-Mountain. What's your name?"

The male was quick to respond, although he too came from a faraway land. It sounded like his family was closer than her old pack, but weeks was still quite the distance. She couldn't help but think about how that must have been a lonely trip. A family-based pack, I see. You could say mine was similar in the sense that it was a pureblood back. She never really thought about how things were different from just a small family of wolves. Her birth pack was much bigger than a family pack after all. The land is large, yes, but you will find that Easthollow is never too far behind. We get around. Her brows raised as he finally introduced himself. King of Elkbone-by-the-Mountain? That's quite the name. I did not realize I was in the presence of royalty. She knew better than to actually think that, but it was the stone wolf's attempt at a joke. Ira will suffice for me.

The male's expression changed only infinitessimally when she gave her pedigree - she was from a pureblooded pack, apparently, but King had no idea what that could mean - but remained otherwise one of polite interest. Part of him wanted to ask more on the subject, but he didn't want to make a fool of himself (again) either.

His expression did change to one of slight embarrassment as she commented on his name. "You forgot the pause - King, of Elkbone-by-the-Mountain. It's a name, not a title," he gently teased, sensing that she'd gotten this already but desiring to clear up any confusion all the same. "Pleased to meet you, Ira," he added, tail wagging in all sincerity as their rapport continued. "You weren't part of the kerfuffle that met me on the borders, were you? But you look like a warrior - I can't imagine you missed the commotion or just decided to let everyone else handle it."

She was never really one to joke so it did not come as a shock that her joke fell flat. The female's ears tilted back as she cast her gaze elsewhere slightly embarrassed by her attempt. Yes, of course. The pleasure is mine. King mentioned some sort of commotion to his acceptance into Easthollow which interested Ira. Usually, only a few wolves met newcomers at the borders? At least in her experience, since she joined the pack. Er-- kerfuffle? I'm afraid I was traveling to our allied packs so no, I missed whatever happened. However, you are correct, I do specialize in fighting.

King raised his eyebrows at this - he'd really just been guessing about the warrior thing, going off her strong physique and no-nonsense countenance. "I don't think I've ever met an actual warrior before," he admitted, clearly impressed. "How'd that come about?"

He wondered if it was more stuff he would just never understand - being raised in such a small, secluded pack had really done a number on his ability to understand other cultures. He was still trying to figure out what pure-blooded could mean, unless she meant there was no stray coyote blood in her family tree? King figured most wolves could say that pretty easily, at least as far as it matter. And he knew that there were parts of his family that kept careful track of their family trees, but it was more of a pride thing than a blood thing.

Is that so? That surprised the female. It was not very uncommon for a wolf to fight? At least in her opinion, but that could just be because of where she was raised. There were several reasons to learn how to defend one's self or even go on the offensive. I was raised under an alpha pair. Defense is always important and it soon became clear that my skills did not lie with hunting. I picked up fighting tactics much quicker. Eventually worked my way up to, hmm... what to call it in general terms. A tactician of sorts? I was in charge of defense and if ever needed attacks.

If King had never met a warrior it was possible he came from a peaceful pack. That would certainly explain how he ended up here. Ira was not a bloodthirsty wolf, but to be in a pack where aggression was not necessarily required was definitely different for the mountain wolf. Morals aside, every pack still needs a few fighters.

Her question earned a tacit nod from the male, who assumed it was only rhetorical. Although he'd been in a few scraps and knew how to defend himself if need be, he wouldn't call himself (or any other wolf he'd met!) a warrior by any means. He'd heard about them, of course, in song and story - but it was quite interesting to meet one in the flesh.

"Wow - that certainly sounds impressive. I've been in a few fights, but it was mostly luck, swiftness, and good health that saw me to the other side," he shared, tail wagging as he imagined being a fighting master-mind. He wondered at what an interesting life Ira must have led, but tried not to let this unflattering curiosity show on his face. He'd been taught not to go picking at other wolves' pasts. "I'm a fair hunter, but not too experienced with larger game. It looks like Easthollow has a lot to teach me."

Ira scanned the male's body as he spoke. He seemed happy with a hunter's life, though there was potential. With enough training, perhaps King could be turned into a warrior if he so desired. The male did seem impressed with her past duties, though the feat now seemed small to her. It's what becomes of you when you are raised under an alpha pair. Although, I suppose not every pack runs the same hmm? King mentioned that he had a lot to learn when it came to larger game. Even with low large game experience, bison seemed to be a class of their own. Luckily they had Valette at the head of their hunts.

If you wish to learn more about hunting large creatures you best see Valette. It is good that you are open to learning, perhaps you will be most useful here. There are some wolves around here that I wonder if they even pull their weight. The mountain wolf's thoughts drifted to the young wolf that seemed to only make a fool of herself or the coffee colored one who was always stuck in her own world. Ira stood stretching out her legs. She never did like sitting around for long. If my skill set interests you though and you wish to protect we should spar sometime. There is a lot to learn.

Ah, King agreed, choosing not to share that his mother and father had been the alpha pair of his natal pack. It didn't seem relevant in this context either way - the male simply accepted that they were from two different walks of life and moved on. I think my talents are better suited toward hunting, but that's no reason not to learn some defensive tactics. I'd be honored if you'd give me a few lessons, just so I can be prepared if the need arises.

He was prepared to defend Easthollow with his life just as he'd been prepared to defend Elkbone. But it seemed that things were more dangerous in these parts than they had been back home. Perhaps it would pay to hone is skills.

Thanks for the thread! feel free to tag if you want to spar! I'm so sorry for Ira's bad sense of humor

Knowing that Easthollow lacked in skilled fighters would always bother the female, but she appreciated that King was open to learning a bit more. Not everyone is meant to be a fighter, but that's ok. The male was still willing to improve for emergencies and that's all she could ask for. I'm pleased to hear that. Feel free to reach out when you're ready. I should get back to my patrol, we've had unwelcomed company recently. she grimaced at the thought of the cougar coming back. She pushed those thoughts away for now as she started down the hill with a small tail wag, glancing back with a slight smirk. Welcome to Easthollow, King of Elkbone-by-the-Mountain

The male inwardly balked at the mention of unwelcome company - just how dangerous was this land? - but keep his worries to himself. At least they had capable protectors, and honestly, he was no slouch when it came to a fight. It just wasn't his strongest skillset. 

Take care, Ira, he replied, not quite missing the smirk, but returning it with a rather bemused grin of his own. He wasn't sure what to think of the other wolf. She seemed nice enough, but he couldn't tell if she'd been quite so dour as she'd seemed. He liked her, at any rate, and hoped they'd all soon be friends.