four. five. seconds

Things had changed over the past few weeks, the rebellious wild child had been accepted into a pack. Maybe she turned out to be more domestic than her mind realized, or actually wanted to be. There was still a wild edge, a longing and curiosity and she had learned -- from her single trip to the Redhawk Caldera, that there was nothing to be fearful off. Topics that were once taboo could be openly discussed, even if not all agreed to this free and open approach to more private and intimate matters.

Spectra was curiously on the prowl, wanting to find out if Peregrine was there; what more could she learn from him, a few vulgar life lessons -- or to see if others were equally open-minded as well. It was mostly her inkling of curiosity that brought her to the borders. Regardless, she was curious but not overly stupid and Spectra exercised a lot of caution as well. The yearling remained within a safe distance of the pack boundaries and adopted a rather submissive and respectful pose; in case anyone wanted to bite her in the butt. She meant no harm.

But even with the risks involved of coming here, seizing the chance and opportunity; if there were more lessons to be learned it was probably worth it all along.

Hi! :)

With Fox's pups expected in only a week's time, Elwood decided to step up his Beta game. He divided his time carefully between his duties and Finley -- he would have rather spent entire days with her, hours on end wrapped up together in one of their dens. But reluctantly, they both realized that wasn't possible, especially with the imminent arrival of the firebirds. It was time to get ready.

He trotted briskly along the borders, his head and tail held high as his yellow gaze carefully surveyed his surroundings. The stranger's shadowy form was a stark contrast against the white snow, so he spotted her quickly and navigated toward her. He was a bit defensive as he approached, unsure of her intentions; but as he drew nearer, he was able to observe her respectful stance and the amount of space she left between herself and the heavily marked borders.

With a sharp but not unfriendly bark, Elwood greeted her, slowing his pace until he came to a stop well within Redhawk's boundaries. "Who are you?" he asked, skipping the pleasantries and getting right down to business. He wouldn't chase her away, necessarily, but he wanted to make sure that she had no ill intent towards his pack.

Thanks for joining, Kim :)
---

She knew deep, down inside that she wasn't welcome; after all, wolves were supposed to stick to their own territory and be all growlish whenever a random straggler drew near. This was especially true when her stench was now wrapped with that of a pack, another pack. Spectra could be the sheep dressed up in wolf clothes' with a hidden agenda and unfriendly, hidden motives. A spy, an enemy; someone who meant harm.

Far from that was true however, she was the curious yearling with an eagerness to learn the wrong things, even if there was still a borderline of youthful innocence within her motives. Suddenly another wolf marched towards her and momentarily Spectra closed her eyes and clickered her teeth together while a lump of nervousness appeared into her stumach. This was different, different than the last time she was here.

As soon as her golden eyes opened up, her eyes were cast upon the ground. She had maintained her respectful and submissive post. Then, her golden eyes blinked as she stared at his feet. They weren't black."You're not Perry!" Spectra said softly, almost with a tad of disappointment. "I'm Spectra; and I'm kind." What she really wanted to say was that she held no bad intentions, but in all her nervousness she began to ramble.

Of course! Been a long time since we roleplayed together. :)

The girl's initial response was curious enough to draw Elwood's attention: "You're not Perry!" He blinked, tilting his head to one side as he observed her. She had dropped down into a submissive pose almost instantly, and she kept her eyes averted from his face. It was obvious that she had met Peregrine before, though Elwood wondered about the context of their interaction and what had brought her to the edge of the caldera.

"You're right," he quipped with a small smile and a wave of his tail. "I'm Spectra, and I'm kind," she added, which caused his amiable expression to grow. "Well, Kind Spectra, I'm Elwood -- and I'm also kind," he replied, his voice carrying over the short distance between them. "I'm Perry's second-in-command; how do you know him?" he asked, his question fueled more by personal interest than anything else.

It was a good thing that they both confirmed that they were kind; not the adorable, fluffy-duffy sort of kindness but still on good -- or at worst, neutral terms. She wasn't interested in having her face chewed off and eaten for the kids-to-come anytime soon. "Can I call you Wood or Woody?" A thought suddenly busted into her mind and she had to bite her lip to make sure it wouldn't pop out on impulse, she was on friendly terms but not that friendly. Still, he appeared to be a jovial fellow so a gentle smile tugged at the edges of her leathery lips.

"Perry and I we met right here!" She proclaimed, wanting to make sure it was obvious she didn't cross any borderlines. Not now and not then. "We talked." Spectra remained silent about what though, because while Perry was open-minded, she wasn't sure if his pack mates shared the same view. However, there was one thing that Elwood said that caught her immediate attention. "What the heck do you mean with his second-in-command?"

Did that mean that Perry was actually the leader of this place? And here she thought he was one of the warden's; one of those cool, popular guys who hung around with everyone and had friends (and admirers!) everywhere.

Had Spectra voiced her question -- "Can I call you Wood or Woody?" -- Elwood probably would have fallen out on the snow right there. It wouldn't be the first time he had been called Woody, but he would have had a hard time deciding which nickname was worse: that one, or Twig.

Luckily, she didn't mention it. Instead, she answered his inquiry as to how she knew Peregrine. She had met him here, on the borders of the caldera, which wasn't surprising at all to the Beta. Peregrine tended to stick around and didn't often venture into neutral territory, much like Elwood himself.

He chuckled at Spectra's question; did she not know how a pack's hierarchy worked? Or had Perry not been clear about his position? "I'm his Beta," he replied, then clarified further: "Perry's the boss man around these parts."

Wait, what? He.was.the.Alpha. Of course Spectra wasn't stupid, she knew what being a leader and hierarchy meant, however the thought that Perry wasn't just one of the regular guys but instead the head huncho took some time to settle in. It still hadn't actually, her face was still at loss and she had a puzzled expression upon her facial features.

"We talked casually about man parts." Spectra mumbled, still a bit taken back by the news. "But not boss parts." Biting her lips while feeling suddenly uncertain, her ears flattened themselves on top of her skull almost apologetic. Even if Perry had said so -- which she couldn't remember -- it had probably been overlooked compared to her attention span for everything else they discussed.

It felt more like Perry had been one of a casual stranger she'd meet at a bar than a CEO of a big company and she felt stupid finding out only afterwards. "I thought he was just a regular, casual guy. And now he's not. I'll haunt his ass if I see him one day." But her assumptions were naive as he had better things to do; like soon wiping drool off his tail from nibbling little puppies. Oh, never assume any guy was just a regular guy.

Elwood couldn't help but laugh; he wasn't at all surprised that Spectra's conversation with Peregrine had involved a discussion of "man parts." "That sounds like Perry," he said with a nod of his head, though it sounded as though Spectra was really surprised to find out about Perry's high-ranking position. Although he was an Alpha, he often didn't act like it -- with his friends and family, he could be a goofy, easy-going guy. Trespassers were one thing that brought out another side of Peregrine -- the defensive, aggressive, and protective side -- so Spectra was lucky that her initial interaction with him had gone so well.

"He is a regular, casual guy. He's not one to flaunt his leadership, although he is a pretty cool Alpha," he added, hopefully easing Spectra's mind.

Spectra understood that it was only a natural-born instinct for wolves to be all ruff and gruff around the borders, strangers needed to be identified as non-threatening before a certain friendliness could be instilled. The yearling nodded when Elwood, Woody, Twig or maybe even better: Captain Twig, confirmed that he was just a nice guy under the right circumstances. However, enough about the leader, Spectra hadn't come hear all the way to spread a friendly rumor or gossip, she was genuinely interested in the pack and its members as well. Especially Woody; after all, he was the one who showed up.

"How about the Beta Male?" Spectra suddenly wondered as her gaze climbed upwards, to about his knees. "Is he a pretty laidback dude?"

He noticed that her gaze was slowly moving further upward, indicating that she was becoming more comfortable in his presence. The Beta male was okay with that; she posed no threat to him or his pack, and that fact was bolstered with the knowledge that she had met and received Peregrine's approval. He sniffed lightly, inhaling her scent with little effort and noting that she smelled of other wolves. It wasn't a pack that he recognized -- though he certainly wasn't an expert, only knowing very little about the packs in the immediate vicinity as well as the Sunspire in the north.

Rolling his shoulders in a shrug, partially to demonstrate just how casual he could be, Elwood replied, "I'd like to think so. I'm probably the coolest guy in the caldera, other than Perry." He flashed her a toothy grin, then asked, "So what brings you back here?"

Spectra became excited which was shown by a wagging tail and ears that stood joyfully upwards. Careful now, not to allow respectful manners to slip due to being an energetic ball of fluff, she reminded herself. Her enthusiasm rose when Elwood explained that he was the other coolest guy in the pack; her muzzle showed a smile from ear to ear, there was something very infectious about that positive vibe she received from the Beta Male. Of course, her eyes were in check and focused downwards.

"It sounds like the Caldera has collected a bunch of cool dudes and dudettes." Spectra complimented before explaining while she was really here, on this road. Her reasons caused a bit of embarrassment even if that wasn't needed -- at least that's what Perry thought her. "Taboo!" Taking a deep breath, Spectra recollected herself before explaining. "Perry thought me that all the topics that others deem private -- being intimate, cursing, embarrassing moments with body fluids -- are all natural, nothing to be ashamed off. I was hoping to come here and learn a lesson or two from his -- your -- anyone's experience with a story or two."

Redhawk Caldera was full of some pretty great wolves, though they had been experiencing some tension as of late. Elwood blamed it on the recent change in membership -- some wolves had left and others had taken their place, creating a different atmosphere. But Peregrine and Fox were still fair and fun leaders, and that set the mood for the rest of the group; he was sure that the pack would smooth over their proverbial wrinkles soon.

As for fulfilling Spectra's request for embarrassing anecdotes, he chuckled and gave his head a little shake. "Peregrine is definitely king of the fart jokes," he agreed, then added, "but I kind of think of myself as a PG-rated version of him. I don't know if I have any great stories." He pursed his lips, furrowing his brow thoughtfully.

"Although..." Something suddenly came to mind, and his expression brightened. "Right after I joined the pack, I got into a tangle with a cougar -- me and Fox, the Alpha female, and another guy named Ashton. The cat scratched me on the bum, and Ashton had to spend an awful lot of time looking at it -- he was our healer," he said with a laugh, remembering Ashton's requests to check out his booty. It was really a shame that the cheerful hippie had deserted them.

Like any young-hearted wolf she loved to hear stories forged by the experience of others. Naturally some stories could be exaggerated or sugar-coated, but she adored how words created pictures and images. When Elwood searched in his own memory collection for stories, her eyes grew vibrant and excited. She wasn't only here to here all the juicy stuff from Perry; but any story mattered. And once Beta Male was done with his tail, her tail wagged -- almost as if applauding.

"Oh that's a bottom bummer." Spectra said, still giggling as she envisioned the fight with the cat. Of course fighting a cougar any day was scary stuff, and the scar was probably very painful as well, but right now he could laugh about the experience. "Loved the story!" Spectra said while digging in her own story-memory archive. "Oh, oh there was this one time.." For a second there she trailed off, before adding; "As a pup I was chasing a skunk through a small black hole. It sprayed upon me while I was stuck at the opening of the hole, with my bottom outside!" Spectra wasn't sure which was worse, the horrible smell or being actually stuck. Or both; evil deeds always came in a pair.

Elwood chuckled at Spectra's enthusiastic reply. She was easy to get along with, and it was regrettable that she seemed to already belong to another pack -- he thought that she would get along well within the ranks of Redhawk Caldera. Of course, they seemed to have a surplus of female hormones at the moment, so maybe it was best that she had somewhere else to call home...

He refocused as she responded with a short story of her own, including a skunk spray and getting stuck in a hole. This brought a new round of laughter bubbling from Elwood's chest as he visualized the image. "I don't know if I can top that one," he said between giggles. "Did Perry tell you that he got sprayed with a skunk recently?" he asked; he didn't know when, exactly, Spectra had met him. It could have been before or after Peregrine's smelly episode -- or even during!

The conversation between them flowed naturally, time ticked by quickly and it almost naturally appeared as through Woody and Spectra were natural friends opposed to vague acquaintances. Her leathery lips parted with many giggles and laughter as their conversation narrowed down to the nitpick details of horrible stuff that happened to them or their friends. It were these moments that remained most memorable.

When Elwood explained that Perry had recently been sprayed by a skunk, she pulled up a dirty face; probably the same one she had as a pup when touched by a skunk. "Ugh, no!" Spectra protested to that thought alone. "Very smelly Perry." She could imagine that the new smell earned him a temporarily nickname or two. "So, how did you guys deal with the smelliest Alpha?" Curiously and bravely, Spectra added questioningly. "Hey, do you mind if I call you Woody?"

He laughed as Spectra reacted to the news. She was lucky that she hadn't had to smell Peregrine after he had been skunked; he remembered the odor with a wince. "Yeah, very smelly is right. It was hard to be around him for a while; I kept my conversations with him pretty short," Elwood chuckled.

"And I'm pretty sure the stink affected his ability to hunt; I think the prey could smell him before they saw him!" He wasn't sure if Peregrine had actually tested that theory, but imagined that it had been difficult to catch anything until the odor subsided.

And then, unexpectedly, Spectra popped a question that made Elwood roll his eyes playfully. What was with wolves wanting to give him nicknames? Was his proper name really so hard to remember? Or maybe it was just too easy to morph into other monikers. "Normally, I would say no," he said, leveling Spectra with a jokingly serious stare. "But I guess I can make an exception for you, since you're so kind -- and a friend of Perry's."

Sorry for the delay ..
----

Wriggling softly with her nose, it was as if Spectra could completely relate to the stories of a smelly Alpha. Not only because she imagined having a skunky-stinky leader (albeit temporarily); but because she smelled like a butt when she was small. She remembered all the strange faces painted by disgust and a fear to stick around longer than necessary.

"Poor Skunky-Butt." Spectra said with a soft grin, feeling sympathy for any smeller around the world. She allowed the words to roll from her leathery lips because she felt comfortable enough around Elwood; or newly dubbed Woody.

"You're pretty fly for a white guy, Woody!" Spectra complimented (while listening to the song on the radio!). However, she had loads of fun, time passed quickly. "I gotta go! Catch you around?"

No problem! Thanks for the thread!

"Hey, thanks!" Elwood replied in response to her compliment. She was pretty fly herself -- it was a shame that all visitors couldn't be as pleasant as she was. More often than not, they were rude or disrespectful. They could all take a page out of Spectra's book.

When she excused herself, he bobbed his head. He had some things on his to-do list that he needed to address, though it had been nice to joke around with her for a bit. "Yeah, come back and visit sometime!" he encouraged. He almost offered to come to her pack, but he had neglected to get that information from her. Ah, well -- maybe next time.

With that, the Beta turned and headed back towards the heart of the caldera.