Blackfeather Woods Longer days, Longer nights

The grey tank grunted lowly when he had to pull away his feet from the mud. Having a large body also meant that he had a lot of weight on him. The swampy mud banks that lay across Black Feather Woods territory made Burke even slower. It wasn't like he moved at a slug's pace, but he was considerately slower than a smaller and lighter built wolf would be. Burke was determined. He wouldn't walk around the heavy mud. He would walk straight through it. His muscles could use the work and strengthen further. Plus, he wouldn't want to be lean. In battle his bones would break like twigs instead of muscles he had now to protect his bones.

The large grey got himself on solid grounds, the two hares he carried in his mouth kept him from releasing his heat. Luckily the wolf knew he was close to BFW caches. Once reached the caches the grey wolf placed the two snacks by the other meat they gathered. His docked tail rose proudly. He was contributing well to this pack. His pink tongue hung out of his mouth to let all the heat go from his large body. Burke was an Alaskan, a Northerner, his winter coat was too thick for the winter here. He wished he could just replace it with his summer coat already. It got him grumpy.

I think a meeting would be in order?

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Bane was just walking towards the specific cache that Burke had chosen to deposit his prey when the stench reached him. The swamps. They were disgusting. Bane had gone there probably once or twice in the whole time he'd been living in the woods, and he avoided it while he could. But he was hungry. And lazy. And Burke had food...

The large Grey that he sighted was one that he had never crossed paths with. Not an odd thing considering that the young Beta had stayed enclosed lately while his battle wounds healed. They were bad, but the pain had decreased significantly. The size of the new member reminded Bane to a comrade he had barely seen in the last couple weeks, Slade the nightmare, were all the people that got into BFW beasts? Was it a requisite? Maybe he'd make it so...

"How can you not throw up when you're smelling like that?" Bane barked, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Bane didn't quite know the man in front of him, but that didn't make a difference; he said what he wanted and cared little about who might hear. Not meaning he meant to be rude... A little blunt maybe.

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Oh yes! Definitely!

Burke's build looked even more like a square tank because of his docked tail. His strong hind legs with the stump marked the end of his body. Followed by the strong frame on top of his long well build legs. Burke often felt like a tank when he walked. His masked face looked up when the white Beta of Black Feather joined him at the caches. Burke himself ate one of the three hares, hence why he only brought two along with him. A respectful bob of his head was his form of a greeting. He had heard that the male recently fathered pups by the priestess herself. Well, there went his own plan.

His icy blue eyes fell on the male, a smirk creeping on his muzzle. "I will tell you the same thing I told Grimnir... 'Leave me be, if you sensitive nose can't handle the scent of your own pack or find another home if you really can't stand the smell'," he spoke, his face looking amused when he spoke. "But I guess that is a highly disrespectful thing to say that to a Beta, right?," he charmingly drawled. His tongue licked over his muzzle. The large grey knew he could use a bath, but he also liked to smell like this. The scent was strong which meant other wolves were notified of his arrival. If they would stay in his path even though the scent warned them, well, then the grey male would make sure they would move away the next time they would smell him.

"I do not have trouble with the scent. I will adopt it as my own since I will not let those swamps stop me from where I want to go,' he pointed out with some arrogance, like the swamps were actually some wolf that was lower than him and needed to be put into place. Burke was determined with everything he put his mind to.

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Maybe the smell wasn't even that bad, hell, maybe Bane was just being a little bitch about it, but he wouldn't let a subordinate talk to him in that way, even less if it was one with a dumb bunny tail. Bane's brows furrowed, and his lips started curling back, but then he realized the other male was just kidding. He was, wasn't he?

"It's not going to be of any good for you." bane woofed with a crooked, defiant smile, still not amused at all by the Zeta's comment. He walked closer, not to the male but to the food, and he dug up a big chunk of good meat, probably from a white deer's leg, and started ripping off pieces. The smell was still very uncomfortable, but Bane tried to ignore it.

"...I will not let those swamps stop me from where I want to go..."

For some reason, Bane didn't quite like the way Burke said it. He lifted his head from the meat, and stared down as if making sure Burke knew that he was below himself in the hierarchy. The arctic Beta didn't want anyone interfering in his business, whatever they were, and if Burke, as Grimnir, was going to be a problem, Bane wouldn't hesitate to put him in his blacklist. But maybe he was just being a paranoid psychopath...

"Determination. I kind of like that." he finally spoke, having decided that Burke would need a closer supervision, "What's your name?"

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The large grey raised his brows a bit when the Beta did not appreciate him joking around like that. Hmm. Immediately the masked male turned into a more serious demeanor. He knew he was lower in rank than this male. Even though he was taller than the white one. Burke knew his place very well. He realized he had climbed a few places but he wasn't at the top just yet. His blue eyes turned onto the white Beta. "Apologies. I did not mean to offend you in any way. Those were not my intentions," he returned. Burke wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to piss off a higher official. Especially not the one so close to the priestess. He wanted his name only be used in a good way. His goal was the brotherhood.

The tank didn't feel like he was doing a good job reflecting himself onto the beta. Still, Burke was only showing off that calm demeanor he always showed. "My full name is Burke Sebastian Rochester but Burke is fine enough," he returned. The grey one didn't need all those official names. He was good with the name he had. He knew his father liked the name 'Burke' a lot so he carried it with pride. Burke often wondered how things went with his old man, maybe he was already given to the ground and his soul to the skies. For now that thought was pushed away. He needed to focus. "I am determined, sir,' he returned. "I plead my loyalty to this pack when I joined so that determination is fully focussed on this pack," he hummed with an proud grin. He didn't look away from hard work.

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Speaking was easy, Bane thought, you can say anything you like, but that doesn't make it true. Burke assured his loyalty to Blackfeather Woods in front of Bane, but so had Slade, and where was he? It only got harder to trust on anyone every day, specially those so determined. "You don't offend me. You couldn't." the arctic woofed arrogantly, lashing his tail higher behind him.

Bane Blackfeather. he returned with pride. He was finally starting to get used to his name, a fitting one for the Dark Brother, and one that made him only more jealous over his home. Just as it had been with Slade, Burke would have to earn the Northerner's trust with hard work and loyalty, and Bane would be more than happy to test him.

"I am determined, sir, I plead my loyalty to this pack when I joined so that determination is fully focused on this pack," Burke said resolutely, and Bane looked into his eyes as he did. There was nothing that exposed his words to be a lie, but still, Bane doubted. "I'm glad to hear that, Burke. We only take people seriously if they do it themselves." Bane smiled coolly "Have you got any trades that could be useful for us?"

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Burke figured out from the start that the Black Feather Officials would be harder to gain their trust. If he would be higher in rank he would be skeptical of new arrivals too. The large grey was determined and he felt like this mindset did help him. Had practically jumped ranks. His proud was clearly visible when he thought of it.

"Bane Blackfeather," he returned in greeting, his head bobbing respectfully. His calm mind studied the beta. It seemed he was like Burke expected him to be. In a way. His blue eyes fell on the light coat of the other. The same Kove had. Burke bobbed his head once more. His docked tail still neutral. "I take myself very seriously."

The large grey didn't need to think, since he already figured out what trades he wanted to go for. "Previously I had Warden, Warrior, and Gamekeeper. Now, to challenge myself, I'd like to go for Warrior, Outrider and Counselor. I do like fighting for my pack, which is why I choose Warrior again. I realized I am not a hothead, which is why you could rely on me to send messages and be a spokesman of your pack. Along with that calm mind of mine, I figured I might be useful as a counselor and advisor," he returned.

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Burke was well spoken, another thing that reminded Bane of his missing mentor. His manners, flawless and regal, were a thing rarely seen in the darkness of Blackfeather, and not always one that pleased Bane and his riotous way of expression. But Burke was alright.

"I am an Outrider myself. How do you plan on taking over my spot?" Bane joked, but underneath, his words were challenging. The last thing he wanted was to be replaced, and Bane Blackfeather was highly competitive. "Warriors are always welcome in Blackfeather Woods. Your size will be helpful to you." He said after examining his body, and noticing that the Beast's tail was docked. He stared for a second, terrified by the idea of the pain Burke must have felt when his tail got removed, but looked up again to meet the Male's eyes.

He wondered if his intentions of being an adviser hauled something else hidden underneath. Paranoia strikes again. "Advising isn't for anyone." Bane stated in a defiant but calm tone. "It will require for us to put our trust on you.." skepticism flooded his words.

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Burke took his time to think about Brother Bane's words. His strategical mind worked out of the possible things to say. Slowly a charming smile tugged on his lips. "Such a smart question," he commented. "You really think that I would be able to take over your spot? I am flattered. But I am not planning that. If one can't go the other could go. It is a team effort. Plus You can train me in the ways you like to work. I am open for that." The large grey still had that smirk on his lips. Amused that the other wolf tried to ask him a trick question like that. Other wolves might have thought about how to be better than the male, but the answer was that you shouldn't try be. Bane was a proud wolf and sometimes it was best if you complimented that pride.

"I do know that, which is why I called it last on my list. First I want to work on my outrider trade, gain trust by delivering messages and recruiting other wolves. Then I might be in a position to council," he returned to the white wolf across from him. Burke was a planner. He had it all planned out in his smart mind. Hopefully it would work too.

I'm trying to finish up my Bane threads, would you like to wrap it up to archive with a last post?

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Burke could only strike the arctic Beta as pretentious and arrogant with his words, and he didn't like it a bit. He listened, silently placing the pieces in the puzzle that was the docked beast in front of him, and at the end, the big picture showed a big guy who posed a threat to Bane's leadership.

"You can try," Bane said with a sarcastically amiable smile and his tail held higher than before. If Burke was planning on escalating the ranks he would have to try hard. Very hard. "Actually, you should go ask Meldresi if she has any messenger work for you." he said coolly and turned around to leave without saying anything else. There was a lot about the grey stranger that he didn't like, and it would require a lot of close supervision.

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Of course <3

Burke watched the arrogant beta. The large tank knew better than to go against a higher rank. It was not worth it. The masked male slowly grinned when he was told to go to Meldresi. Well that wouldn't be too difficult. He liked that woman better than this arrogant jerk.

The male nodded courtly. "Thank you for your time," he returned and then walked the other way to find if Meldresi was available.