they whispered change

Luka, feel free to jump in at any time. Just wanted to go ahead and get a reply up for this before I head out to do some errands! :)

Her pack — with its grand total of no members besides herself — was new and her lands only recently claimed, but that did not mean she took herself any less seriously as guardian of this place. It was an instinctive thing forged on the most basic level in an Alpha wolf when she bonded herself to a land, especially one with as much character and history as this majestic, old-growth forest. The land would shelter and provide for her so long as she protected it; this she understood without even thinking about it. And so she did protect it, through her tireless efforts to mark the boundaries of the forest, where the younger evergreens that still had much growing to do gave way to scrub and underbrush that tumbled out into verdant, rolling hills and vast, expansive wilderness beyond. The only part she cared about at all, in any of it, was this forest.

And there were strangers here.

The forest had whispered of their presence to her, bringing their scents to her on a pine-laced breeze just moments before a summoning howl rent the air. She figured they had heard her claiming howl earlier and were either here to seek acceptance or to challenge her. She was prepared for either.

When she arrived, she was greeted by the sight of two wolves, both male, both healthy and handsome. One of them — presumably the one who had called for her — looked so startlingly like her brother Antares that she was momentarily overcome with elation and joy before realizing it wasn't him. The eyes…they weren't right. And his brow was different, some of the tones in his coat not quite the same. Disappointment suffused through her, but it was tempered by the fact that these wolves did not appear threatening or challenging in any way. The other, a tall, willowy shadow of ebony that contrasted starkly with the snow around them, caught her attention with his eyes of sapphire. They seemed worthy of her forest…if that was why they were here.

As she approached them, her hackles bristled and her tail rose dominantly over her back. Eyes like frosty seawater bored into their faces challengingly and an ominous growl rumbled in her chest. It was all a test, of course. If they played their cards right and passed it, they would win their way into her forest.

She said nothing, for they were not here to listen to her talk. Rather, she was here to listen to them, so she allowed them to speak first.