Redtail Rise I

the man called augur looked for the wolf called @Ashlar.

he had misjudged. there was the male who had named him. there was a tall beast with a fierce face. and there was this boy.

he was young but he had the favour of the red woman. and so augur set off to seek the same from ashlar, ears pinning with a low whine when he spotted the other.

Ashlar had not found a place yet to keep the things he had gathered, so he'd taken to hiding them next to a certain fallen tree in the place where the burning had happened. It was fairly clean and easy to keep his plants from getting mixed with others, but it wasn't the system Baba had held to keep his own supplies. Ashlar would have to figure out how to dig a den like that, but first he needed to decide where he would place it.

He was tucking some clippings beneath when a wolf came up behind and whined. The bard's ears turned and he looked over, surprised to hear that sound. It definitely wasn't Avicus, and he hadn't expected any of the others to greet him like that. It was the new wolf, the massive one from the hunt, but he was approaching with a posture that was lower.

Ashlar swallowed, not sure what to make of it, but then smiled and lowered his head in a way that was meant to be disarming. Hi. Uh... I'm Ashlar. He had never, in his life, had another wolf defer to him.

the other spoke. the larger wolf rumbled the syllables of his own name, the one that blood eyes had given him. this one would be blacktail. 

augur was beginning to recognize name sounds. but for now he fell into a play bow, tail waving playfully above his hips.

it was a good way to test one another. augur wished to know if this boy would also enforce their hierarchy.

He wanted to play? Ashlar didn't get a name from the growls, but he was quick to catch on and didn't mind that the other wouldn't speak. Instead he was captured by the prospect of a wrestle that was for pure fun. There was a touch of fear in him for a moment, as though the boy thought it might be a trick. But then his features began to glow with anticipation as he bent down and slapped his forepaws on the snow.

He let out a small sound, more bark than growl, and hopped sideways. He still wasn't sure that this was what the other wolf intended and he did not want to engage until he knew. The fights he'd seen in contests, the ones where teeth actually hurt and blood was spilled, were not something he wanted to take part in. This was something else, something he hadn't done since before Ursus, and he was overjoyed at the very chance for it.

augur was answered and the delight was plain upon his expression.

carefully he moved forward, nipping at the air in a reined way. augur answered the bark with one of his own.

tossing his ruff, he approached, feinting before bounding away. the others were fierce in a way that this one was not. it made him more approachable for the young juggernaut.

if he was followed, augur would tuck his tail, pretending to be under a greater threat than he was.

The feints, and the answering bark, were all the confirmation that the singer needed.

Ashlar took off after him, determined to overtake him just to make the chase more fun. The other wolf was massive by comparison, but when he caught up, Ashlar would reach for an ear or the fur of his ruff. His teeth would not break skin, as the attempts were the gentle grasps of play.

He wanted to prove that he could keep up and, maybe, initiate the man to retaliate in kind. If it came down to wrestling, Auger would have the upper hand, but Ashlar did not mind. It was good to wriggle his way out, to attempt to overcome and escape. This was practice he could participate in and he knew, despite the fun, that he shouldn't waste it.

augur was accepted. he licked the ridges of his teeth and sent a low bark toward his companion. the boy plucked at his fur.

augur wheeled to change the terms of their chase, his great muzzle controlled, teeth unbared for now. he was delighted. it showed in his gait and the loll of his tongue. 

after a moment he leapt toward blacktail, large paws aiming to wrap and to push.

He was not expecting the directional change and, as Auger pushed, Ashlar was bowled over. He laughed silently and thrust his forepaws up, attempting to wrap them and pull the other man over so that he could wriggle from under and gain the high ground.

He put some strength behind it, but it wasn't considerable. It was likely he wouldn't achieve more than lifting himself slightly.

augur bit lightly at the boy's dark ruff and then leapt away, letting the other up from the snow. the great wolf danced a few feet away, falling into another playbow. 

he knew his strength but understood it was not be used against his new packmates. the other's willingness to romp with him had established ashlar as third and augur as fourth. but he did not seek to challenge.

rather augur accepted this as a fact of his own standing. he waited for blacktail to come closer, snapping delightedly at the cold air.

The man allowed him up, fully cementing him as a playmate and as a friend. He had forgotten what it was like to run with someone who was not interested in asserting his position, or in trying to force Ashlar to prove something he was not. If he had known the man counted him above, he'd not have known what to say.

Ashlar scrambled to his paws and reared back, then bounded in a playful semicircle around. This time he would be the one chased. His tail spun in an exuberant display as he turned and took off, laughing, hoping he would be followed.

blacktail ran in a circular pattern. augur barked and followed when his packmate ran off, leaping through the snow and tearing a path behind himself.

he reached for the other's hindleg, not quite touching. it was a teasing nip. augur veered away next, tail waving. he jumped sideways into looser white and growled encouragingly.

Ashlar felt the breath on his leg and saw the other man spin, leaping off in another direction with another clear switch of the challenge. He bounded to a stop in the snow, then barked happily and allowed himself to be led in another chase until they both wore themselves out.

It had been wrong of him to assume that these wolves would not be friends.

Wrapping this! they are adorable, omg. we'll have to have another!