too weary of life and deceptions

@Wyeth near WWG and forward dated after they find it.

Runt's ankle wouldn't heal magically and immediately. So while it was there, the fracture, it was best to get some practice walking with it. So she was out in the Great Bear Wilderness, in unclaimed land near the gorge she, Mara, and Faline had found. She couldn't always hold it up to her chest and hope it would work. That made running difficult. She gently placed her paw on the ground but was careful not to put any weight on it yet. She lightly pressed down, putting some weight on it. A sharp pain shot through her ankle and she yelped. This was going to take a while.

@Runt

Wyeth did not remember what happened at the mountain...at all. He awoke in an old burrow with herbs and cobwebs wrapped around wounds that had miraculously appeared, the wolf who had done all this was nowhere to be found, what remained was only a faint scent and it was unfamiliar. Maybe it was an old wise healer, or a nice young wolf. He didn't know, but he made sure to remember this scent.

The cinnamon agouti twisted around to nip off the cobwebs, revealing several nasty gashes on his flank, but it would heal, it was already healing and the warrior had had pain much worse than this. He could not remain here forever, the urge to leave was stronger than the urge to stay and rest. Rising nimbly to his paws, Wyeth scooted out of the den and shook himself before looking around.

The sea wolf had no idea where he was, golden green eyes scanning his surrounding as he trotted forward and kept going. Intending to find someone with answers on where he was. Out of the corner of his eye, the warrior noticed a young wolf, not even a year old. Female, by her scent. Wy stood by the side and watched as she tried putting weight on her paw, noticing it was damaged. When she let out a yelp, he moved forward, a concerned look in his olive gaze. "Are you alright?"'

She spun around nervously at the voice. There stood a tall warrior man with several hues adorning his pelt, and olive eyes. "Yes. Well, I think so. I'm injured, but I think I'll be okay after just a little bit of time." She said. Runt was nervous to let strangers, especially scarred strong looking adults, see her so weakly. Runt hated being weak. She was desperate to get away from it- she had been weak as a tiny slave in the pack, weak as the runt of the litter. Now she was free, and she wanted to be strong.

"Yes. Well, I think so. I'm injured, but I think I'll be okay after just a little bit of time." The concerned look was still evident in his eyes, but at her words his stoic mask parted to reveal a faint smile. "Course you'll be okay, kid. Not many wolves your age get these kind of injuries, and I see you've got a lot of wounds and cuts, got in a lot of fights?" There was a twinkle in his olive gaze now, "Practice makes perfect, eh? You're strong now, most would be bawling their eyes out at this kind of injury your age, so when you grow older, you'll be the best warrior and you'll beat every one of them." This girl reminded him of himself, always getting into fights with his siblings, trespassing, but it gave him experience, it made him who he was.

Truthfully, Wyeth did not know why he was saying all this to a stranger, perhaps it was because she wasn't even a year old and had so many injuries, or maybe it was because she was only a Juvenile and a girl. He had a soft spot for girls, females, it was probably because of his upbringing. Though through his journeys through different lands, the warrior learnt that females were just as strong as males, and never to underestimate them. "Are you from a pack?" he asked in a lightly accented tone.

She nodded rapidly when he asked if she got in a lotta fights, even though it was probably rhetorical. He next words brought her spirit up. Practice did indeed make perfect, it helped her every day. not that she got in fights every day. but she did a lot. And this strong looking battle scarred adult warrior was telling her when she grew up she would beat the rest, and that she was doing better than other kids her age who had these kinds of injuries! This made her feel great and strong and powerful. She was no runt, she was no slave, she was free to be as great as she wanted to be! "No, but I'm soon ta be. I'm helpin' ta found one in a gorge with my friend and another wolf who's gonna help us." She told Wyeth. She didn't know if she should tell him this- he could be a Spine wolf, loyal to the new jerk alpha- but his speech had let down her gaurd a little. He had made her feel better, and she trusted him a little more.

"No, but I'm soon ta be. I'm helpin' ta found one in a gorge with my friend and another wolf who's gonna help us." That made him interested, so deciding the kid in front of him wasn't much of a threat-he didn't doubt her skill in fighting, she was probably better than other juveniles her age, but he was older and had more experience. After all, unlike his brother, Wyeth had chosen the path of scars and blood and pain, he'd chosen the path of a warrior and the cinnamon agouti never regretted it.

Wyeth sank down onto his haunches, and with a tilt of his head and a smile, he asked "So your friend, you and someone else are going to found a pack? Sounds interesting, mind if you give me more details? Being a loner in winter ain't really a good idea after all, and its been a hella long time since I had family." A really long time. The regal had decided to set out and find his own path a little after the age of one after all, been a good idea then, still a good idea now.

"Well, the alpha is gonna be my friend Mara. Faline is the other wolf. We'll be in Whitewater Gorge, which is near here. Near the Spine, if ya know where that is. Whitefish River runs through it, and it's actually full of more prey and flora than you'd think. And there are caves in the gorge where we can make our dens. I'm Runt. What's yours? Ya got any interest in joinin'?" She said, letting out a deep breath at the end. Right now Runt saw herself as the recruiter for new members, well, new founding members, even more important. She took it upon herself at the moment to see to them having some good wolves in their ranks.

The regal listened quietly as the kid spoke, absorbing all the details she was giving him. Apparently the leader was someone named Mara, judging by her name, she was probably a female. Now, back in the days with his old natal pack, females were not leaders. Males did all the dominant stuff, the leading, the making decision and performed more physical tasks. If Wyeth had gone straight from Bugloss Bend to Teekon Wilds, he would have thought the same and disagreed when females were Alphas, but he hadn't. He'd taken the long way around and knew from experience that the other gender could be as good as leading as his own. So, he made no objections.

The next part was about them being in some place called Whitewater Gorge, near the Spine. The Spine, eh? Didn't know what it was, but it might be a vital piece of information. The cinnamon male did not interrupt, though, instead listened and waited until she was over. Apparently Whitefish River runs through the gorge and it had a lot of prey, there were also caves in the gorges where they could make their dens. Wyeth preferred to be near open air, to be beside the sea, on the beach and sleep with the stars overhead, with the calm sound of the waves crashing against the shore to lure him to bed. But the sea was probably far away and this place sounded good, he couldn't possibly live by the sea forever, the wanderlust in him was great, and the sea wolf was sure he could get use to cave living.

Next she said her name, and immediately his brow creased. Who the fuck named their kid Runt? "Sounds like a great place to live, I'll like to be one of the founding members, but do you mind telling me about what this 'Spine' is? It sounds important. Got anything to do with the finding of the pack?" Lots of packs were founded because of stuff that happened in their previous pack, if there was any history, Wyeth needed to know. "Who names their kid Runt? Thats offensive. I take it you didn't have good parents." Seriously, his own family was not like that. He offered Runt a smile, "Lots of wolves call me Tigerheart. Apparently its cause I have the fighting skills and grace of one, also because of the many colors of my pelt. The heart part's supposed to say that although I'm good fighter and stuff, I ain't cruel and merciless or something along those lines." The regal laughed. "My name's Wyeth, Wyeth Innisfree. But feel free to call me both names, Tigerheart and Wyeth are both fine."

She took a deep breath a began to speak again. "The Spine, Ouroboros Spine, is where Mara's from. There was a change in who was alpha very suddenly. Now it's some girl that Mara hates. Thinks she's a jerk. I haven't met this jerk alpha yet. I know maybe your thinkin' this makes it dangerous ta join, since we have enemies, but I assure ya, with enough wolves among our ranks we won't have ta worry at all 'bout them." She listened to his next question. No longer about the pack. Her name was beginning to be a problem. She needed to have it changed soon. "My jerk mom who likes the other three better just cause they're born bigger. So she sells me, cause she doesn't wanna deal with me. Tsk. Jerk." She muttered. Her mom had doomed her to those few months at the slave camp, making the first months of her life painful and sad. Even in the end, if not painful, chaotic. Speaking of the camp, she wanted to see Jupiter and Spruce and Rosebud again. She wondered if they would've joined Whitewater. Jupiter would definitely be in the adult ranks, Spruce would've probably just become an adult, Runt was almost there, and Rosebud was a month behind her. "Kay, Tigerheart. Same for me. Good fighter. Kinda a jerk ta people I don't like, but nice and loyal and brave ta and for my friends." She said. She was willing to sacrifice her one short life for those she loved or liked.

Wanna finish this thread up with Runt leading Wyeth to Whitewater Gorge? So..one more post from you? Then maybe we could have a thread where Runt leads Wyeth to meet Mara.

Runt explained that Ouroboros Spine was where Mara was from, apparently there was a change of Alphas and now a girl who was a jerk was the new leader. Some females were not suitable for leading, some were destined to be followers and followers only. Yet sometimes, those who were destined to be followers did not like their role and aimed to be a leader, when they got what they wanted, they broke their pack into pieces, turned it into ash, demolished it. Wyeth never liked wolves like them, but then again, the tiger never met this jerk Alpha so he wouldn't know. And the regal never judged so quickly.

The kid went only to explain that maybe he thought it was dangerous to join since they have enemies but that with enough wolves in their ranks, they wouldn't have to worry about them. Wyeth thought deeply about it, was he ready to leave the life of an explorer to join this pack and help them with the pack? The cinnamon agouti knew if this jerk Alpha kicked this Mara out, she would most likely have a grudge against her, and grudges led to potential wars that could kill many from both sides. Now, Wy was a warrior at heart, but he had been a leader too, and he absolutely hated to see his own packmates die. War was inevitable, that much he knew, and if there was going to be battles, Tigerheart was willing to help out. Runt was a good kid, she had Mara, but she needed a mentor too, and if she would accept him, maybe he could help her with her fighting and hunting skills. So, with a smile on his lips and a twinkle to his eye, the regal spoke "I'll be happy to join. You're gonna need a warrior if there's enemy around, and some advice." A large smile was on his face now, "Besides, you're going to need someone to practice with, instead of always having aggressive spars."

Tigerheart frowned at her next words, "She what? She SOLD you? The fuck? She's seriously messed up. You're one of the most gifted and talented kid I've ever met," he smirked. "Not many kids bear the mark of so much battles, be proud. I hope your mom dies a horrible death. Her loss, not having you with her." Wyeth absolutely hated wolves like that, why have kids if you were going to kick the weaker one at that moment out? Thye might grow up to be stronger than the others. Pathetic.

"Kay, Tigerheart. Same for me. Good fighter. Kinda a jerk ta people I don't like, but nice and loyal and brave ta and for my friends." He grinned. "You're okay, kid. Now, mind taking me to this Whitewater Gorge of yours? I'll like to meet Mara and see what she thinks of me." With that, Tigerheart rose to his paws and waited.

yeah, sure! Let's not start the next one just yet, I might wanna get a little more into the WWG discovery thread. I don't like having to make assumptions on what Runt does and doesn't know at this point. Thanks for the thread!

"True, true. Aggressive ones give me too many scars and wounds." She said. When he reacted the way he did she nodded sadly. "I know, right. My mom sold me ta the alpha of a pack made up of slavemasters and slaves. And I was a slave." She said quietly, but this wasn't about her life, so she left that topic behind. "Don't mind at all, Tigerheart. Come on, this way." She said with a glance back at him before she set off at a steady limp trot towards Whitewater Gorge. She hoped Mara would approve, a brave kind hearted warrior would be a good addition to the new pack.

Okay :)

Her mother was seriously messed up, selling this kid to a pack made out of slaves and slavemasters? What was she thinking? Runt was just a kid! One of the most gifted kids he had ever met in his life, she didn't deserve the name Runt, much less a childhood of pain and misery. "You deserve so much better, kiddo." he said quietly, the tiger genuinely cared about her, even if only he'd met her just now. At that moment, he took it upon himself to make sure she lived a long and happy life, a life of freedom. It might be full of blood and battles, but he would train her, and she would be ready.

When she made to go, Wyeth followed calmly behind her, his mind on a million things, maybe he would find a family in this Whitewater Gorge.