Dawnlark Plains pause for paws

He had learned long ago to tend to his feet when he travelled, and stopped now to do just that. He laid his leonine body on the ground, and drew his tongue across the pads of one paw. They were drying, beginning to crack. Honey would soothe them, mend them, but it was not readily available in the plains. Fat would be the next thing. He stood when he had finished cleaning his paws. A quick glance around revealed no prey in the immediate here, so he walked on, all senses alert for what could be found, and what may find him.

Meldresi was not as young as she used to be. She grew tired on these excursions early, taking more rests than she would have before her children's birth. It was an inevitable fate, a part of life, of course. She went into her dotage gracefully, though. Her exhaustion was carefully hidden behind years of discipline, as she walked through the taiga, looking for a place to rest and think. She was having a hard time doing this, actually; there were wolves everywhere that she ran into, looking for a conversation.

Once again, she saw a wanderer on the taiga. For a desolate, frozen place, there seemed to be a lot of wolves up north. She was close enough to him that they could carry a conversation (a far off one at that). But she did not speak, letting him initiate it, if he wished.

ooo.. I don't think we've ever threaded before, have we? :)

He was not alone on these plains, barren as they may have seen at first. His scanning eyes noted a black female. She seemed a mature wolf like himself, but the seasons had been much kinder to her raven coat than they had been to his. She said nothing, and made to move to approach any closer. He stopped, and at length stared back her in quiet. He waited, but still she said nothing. He chuffed. The social game was not his strong suit, in that he had a limited interest in idle chit chat with passerby's. But, he did have some questions, and perhaps she had some answers.

"Alright, I'll bite." He said at last. "Hello. Hey. Hi. How do you do."

I thought this could prove to be quite interesting. ;)

Scimitar didn’t stray from home very far nor for any great length of time – only because he wanted to remain as close to his family as possible. That did not mean he did not scout the areas that rested just outside their peak, and this day would prove to be no different for such a thing.
 
So, his large form crept across the stretch of land, his ears swiveling to the gentle sounds of nature. It was by chance he caught scent of others – and pausing only for a moment to determine if it was worth his time to find out who they were, Scimitar finally gave in to the possibility of recruiting, at the very least.
 
One ear swiveled as he came upon them – both painted in ebony hues, and one just beginning to question the other – strangers to one another as well. Uttering a low bark to announce his presence, the regal lingered closer, but stopped a respectful distance from the small group. It was when a brush of wind swept past, tantalizing his nostrils with a very familiar and unwelcome scent that his bright aqua eyes would become more alert – but so faded, he could not tell if it was a simple trick of his mind.. the desire and thirst for revenge on the Blackfeather Woods pack. “Hello,” he offered, remaining aloof to the sudden awareness he felt.

I can't resist 3 wolves chilling out in the area next to Saena's pack.

Normally, the neutral lands were neutral lands and Saena didn't venture into them with the intent of driving others off. That had changed somewhat when Fox had come to the north and moreso when she had encountered Sebastian. She couldn't be too careful, so when the commingled scents of not one, not two, but three wolves drifted on the wind from the south, the Alpha left her home in search of them, either to bring them into her fold or to tell them to get lost.

Had they proved to be further than the plains, she would have abandoned her search, but they were there. Two mingled with the scents of other wolves—one was Nova Peak, the other was unfamiliar and rather faded—and the third wore only the scents of the earth. Two black, one tawny. The tawny one commanded the most attention, and coupled with the scent, Saena could only assume he was the brother that Kaskara had spoken of.

Saena rumbled as she drew up to all three of them, and where her dominance was rarely overstated at home, here there was no doubt about her position among her wolves. It was perhaps the most majestic she had ever looked. She glanced sidelong at Scimitar, the one who smelled like Bazi and Kaskar and was even more majestic looking (like a lion, if that even made sense from a wolf's perspective), before fixing her eyes first on Meldresi and then on Rhett. Her lips twitched and she said to the unaffiliated two, "unless one or both of you are planning to join one of the packs in this area, you're a bit close to my home." Of course, this wasn't necessarily true—one could argue that Dawnlark Plains were huge and they were nowhere near the Rise—but Saena had grown protective ever since her attack at Redhawk Caldera. She was doubly so now with her Beta and Warden out of sorts.

This taiga, cold and bleak as it was, had quite a lot of wolves. She expected to have a pleasant conversation with another wolf about her age for once (barring Burke, but he was special), but found their conversation interrupted. Twice.

Once by someone who smelled faintly familiar. She remembered that faint stench drenched all over her wolves when they came back into the folds of Blackfeather, bruised and battered, but triumphant, after fighting Swiftcurrent Creek wolves. She did not meet any of those wolves personally, but she knew that scent well. She met the wolf's gaze, seeing in him a bit of recognition as well, but they both pushed it aside. Not right to open old wounds, especially when the wolves who attacked his pack had all departed Blackfeather, one way or another.

The second time was by a younger wolf. She was barely older than her children, only a year at least, and yet she was approaching them with such dignity and aggression. It was enough to turn the corners of Meldresi's mouth slightly. She reminded her of her own daughter, strutting about, challenging all of the new wolves she met. Oh, how she longed for her daughter and her sons.

Meldresi noted that the copper and white girl did not address the former-Swiftcurrent wolf, instead focusing her eyes on the two dark-furred wolves. Meldresi looked at the girl, then sniffed. "You must be mistaken," she murmured good naturedly. "I do not smell any pack borders close by..."

Representing FFR to complete the SFT trio xD

She was tracking the scent from their borders, curious to se if the wolf  that Cita had gone on and on about was still frolicking in the area. Apparently there were wolves around here that weren't too terribly intelligent and knowing that, she wanted to make sure the female with the bad dye job wasn't hanging around. The Ridge wanted none of her foolishness, especially when she was going to just blatantly ignore a pack's scent marks. Forming or not, they'd still been very obvious to even the stupidest of wolves.

Imagine her surprise (not) when she picked up the very scent she'd been tracking, though much, much stronger. Nocta followed it, only to find herself faced with an odd conglomerate of wolves, all wearing different scents. There were two that were vaguely familiar and she chucked those into the resident packs pile. Another with only his own scent and what a traveler would smell like. The last was the old crone, and her bright eyes settled on her as she approached in time to catch her words.

"Well, obviously you haven't smartened up from when you blatantly trespassed on our lands, so either you're going noseblind or you just have that little respect for the current residents of this area. New or old." The last quip she'd thrown in there as a clue to the two pack wolves. The Ridge was a brand new pack, and they were getting around to bringing a homemade apple pie to their neighbors' doors. 

this is awesome. lmao

In no time at all the company of two had doubled. His eyes moved from the raven female to the approach of a large male, and then to a a young female who, curiously, carried herself with the stature he would expect of an alpha intercepting wolves near their borders. Yet, they were not at a pack's boundaries, and she was, again, young. He doubted her to be any more than a yearling. He inhaled purposefully, drawing their scents in through his nose. Neither seemed belong to the same place as the other. He had found himself at the cross roads apparently.

His eyes had already fallen to the white and red female, if not because her approach had captured his attention than because her grace and feminine curves had. She spoke, and he lifted a brow. For a small young thing she was certainly confident, if not downright arrogant, to suggest he had no business being here unless he was seeking membership nearby. He was not quick to speak (seldom was), and the raven female spoke up, echoing at least some of his thoughts. He glanced to her, then back to the white girl. He remained as he was: neutral, indifferent.

He kept the other male in his periphery as he waited to see what else this bold female had to say about them being here, but then there was another, and she went straight for the black woman, with none too welcoming words. She, too, carried a different scent. None of these wolves were affiliated, and yet here, now, on him, they had converged.

Damn, did he smell good or something?

LOL.. that escalated quickly. @Meldresi -- I'm having Scimitar attempt to circle her and be on the opposite end of her from where Nochtli came in. I understand if you'd rather your character didn't get the snot kicked out of her (though dice rolls, you just never know!).. so if you want her to slip past before he finishes and bolt.. that's fine by me.. or, alternatively, if you're up to start some drama/a fight, you can PM me and we can discuss. :o

Before Scimitar even had a true chance to determine his next move to figure out where the ebony she-wolf was from, their group of three quickly became a group of five. Baffled and annoyed, the cinnamon wolf withheld his composure, not allowing his emotions to seep forward to his features, and in turn, he broke his eyes away from the two strangers before him to view an ivory and rust she-wolf – and as she spoke, he had an inkling of who she was.. he just had yet to hear what she had decided to call her pack.
 
The irony of her discussing how close these wolves were to pack lands was intriguing to him – had she not settled almost at his own doorstep with full knowledge of Nova Peak’s existence? Yet this was not he time for such a question, and as another came and began to accuse the swarthy female of previous trespassing, he knew his chance of her revealing her home openly was gone.
 
Pivoting, the cinnamon wolf began to circle around the other end of her, blocking the unknown witch between himself and what he considered his two ‘allies’ for the stolen moment – the ebony male remained forgotten for now. “You smell faintly of the Blackfeather Woods pack. Why?” His tone flattened—his eyes flashed. A large beast, and one who was attempting to barricade her in.. Scimitar left little room for discussion on a response.

Phone post, sorry if it sucks!

The male lone wolf was silent, affirming for Saena that he wasn't interested in an offer of membership, but before Saena could ask him to move his party elsewhere (anywhere other than next door to her recently vulnerable pack), the female spoke up. Saena's gazed panned to her and her expression went from imperious to disgruntled.

"I don't think I'm mistaken of the whereabouts of my pack, thank you," she said flatly. The wind favoured the northwest, so of course Meldresi wouldn't smell Redtail Rise. She was upwind of it, as they all were now.

But then it became abundantly clear that Meldresi was actually a dense creature, for a third wolf approached, smelling very different than all the others gathered, and accused the southern female of trespassing. Saena opened her mouth to ask her to get lost, too, but then Nochtli identified herself as a member of a northern pack, and that silenced any disquiet she felt over a fifth member of this little party.

You see, to her, the north was like an unspoken coalition. Saena knew nothing of Scimitar's feelings toward her or her pack, having struck an agreement with Kaskara about where the Rise would hunt (and having been assured there were no issues with the arrangement she had made). She didn't consider Nova Peak an ally, per se, but they were a pack that shared the north and therefore they were worth more in Saena's eyes than loners and strangers. Perhaps they should have been rivals, but she wasn't raised to treat others nearby as rivals. That only caused unending conflict.

As for Nochtli, well, ever since Saena's attack in the south, she'd come to view the entire north as a safe domain that needed defending. Any new pack there would see her support, at least in spirit, so long as they didn't stir up trouble for the Rise. Both wolves were therefore on "her side", or she was on theirs at least, and they were in a situation where she could lend physical aid, for it was quickly becoming apparent that neither of her northern companions thought of Meldresi as a friend. So when Scimitar moved to flank Meldresi, Saena took a step or two forward to block off where the male previously stood, so that Meldresi had only one way to go—back where she came from. Besides, Saena didn't like the implication that she didn't know where her own pack was, so that was a good enough reason for her to step in.

Rhett was still ignored, mainly because he hadn't spoken yet, but she did twitch an ear toward him.

Sorry for the holdup! Exit for Meldresi.

These northmen, for they all smelled of the taiga around them, seemed to have a coalition. Without speaking, or introducing themselves, they surrounded the priestess, ignoring the other black male entirely. All had some grief with her, but she had never met any of them. She didn't know their names, or even the names of all of their packs. The woman gave the other black wolf, the loner, a sympathetic look, as if to say: I am sorry for dragging you into this. Whatever it was.

"Whatever reason you three have for encircling me, I can assure you it is unfounded." If she had fingers, they would be rubbing into her temples in annoyance at this spectacle. "I never smelled your territory or knew it was there, for I only meant to speak with the loner. And if I had smelled it, I would respect your borders and avoid the area." She explained, looking towards the white and orange yearling briefly, trying her hardest to keep her cool. Her indigo eyes turned to the other female. "Your pack was not founded the at the time that I went to that ridge. There was no borders keeping me out, so I was not trespassing." Finally, her eyes swept to the Swiftcurrent wolf. "I smell of Blackfeather Woods because it is my pack. Do not start a quarrel with me over an old incident. All of the wolves that you encountered last time are gone."

Her explanation complete, the priestess huffed, knowing that it was not likely that she smoothed things over so quickly. Meldresi stood tall, bowing her head slightly in respect, since she was in their domain, not her own. "Now if you will all excuse me, I will be taking my leave." With that, she turned tail and made south, where she hoped that she would find more hospitality. The taiga certainly produced cold-hearted people.

Attack was a hit. [url=http://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=10030] Alisha, let me know if you want to do evens or odds for a fight, or a dice roll spar.. or if you want her to attempt to flee. Scimitar isn't just going to stand there and let her get past him though. :( Permission given to skip Nochtli.

He did not question why the other Northern's aided him in blocking the she-wolf in. The swarthy male was forgotten by now, and Scimitar's eyes were sharp upon her, just waiting for her to speak -- because the moment she confirmed she was indeed of their pack, his jaws would be seeking her throat for it.

Not only did her confirmation stand tall -- the ebony she-wolf lead the fools who had determined it fit to mess with his pack mates. Her claim that the members who had begun the episode were long gone -- this mattered little, for they followed her direction.. and for this, she would pay.

It would have been amusing to the wolf that she thought she could simply leave. He had made his stance very clear, and as she tried to get past the wolves that had her completely surrounded, the cinnamon wolf did not hesitate any longer. He lunged forward, his ears sliding back to his skull and his jaws agape -- his aim was to grab her at the side and pull her back, his teeth not aimed to deliver a warning but to slash through her flesh -- an eye for an eye. His own left ear was tattered and bit in half from one of her grunts, while his subordinates still bore scars from their doing.

He would be damned if she was going to be walking away without retribution.

Wasn't sure if @Meldresi was gonna post back before Nocta or not but figured I'd toss this up anyway! :)

Her lips lifted as the crone regarded her and spouted some ridiculousness about the pack not being founded yet. "It's called respect, you old hag. You don't just waltz over scent markers because you feel like it, whether the pack's official or not. And you are obviously noseblind because her pack is right next door." The Amazon's too, back in Coatl's rise, were similarly territorial and would not have trusted such a gathering near their pack.

As she turned to leave, Nochtli shifted her location to cut her off, though it was seemingly unnecessary as the male went to attack her. For the moment, the Fire Sister watched, her muscles tensed to see whether or not she would need to aid further in the chasing the entitled misfit out of the North.

Posting 'cause I have an opportunity to right now and don't wanna hold this up!

The southern female had a lot to say, considering three rather unfriendly wolves were currently standing around her. In the same situation, Saena would've probably shut her mouth and tried to run for it, but Meldresi was (apparently) not as fond of her decent odds and wanted to make them worse. Well, she succeeded at that.

Though what the witch said to Saena was pretty much a moot point, Meldresi went on to say something about a pack at the ridge being unofficial, which of course puzzled Saena. Without having experienced the entire world, the yearling had always thought that any form of scent marking was pretty damn official. There wasn't some checklist that wolves had to fill out before their pack counted as a pack in the eyes of others; as soon as they set foot in an area and began to guard it and mark it, it was their territory, and they had the right to defend it. That Meldresi couldn't see where Nochtli was coming from was baffling to the Redtail, who saw clearly what the issue had been with only the limited information given here.

The other pack wolf present, Scimitar, must've had his own thoughts on the matter, for no sooner than the Blackfeather Woods alpha finished introducing herself did he launch himself at her. There was no explanation, only the vague line about a previous encounter. Saena, like Nochtli, remained where she was for a moment, but when the Frostfire Ridge amazon moved to cut off Meldresi, Saena darted for her other side, hoping to pin her against Scimitar, who clearly had a bone to pick with her. She had no real reason to participate, but she did anyway, believing it was her duty to her fellow northern packs to help them whenever possible.

Likewise, just tossing this up. Rhett is just an observer so :)

The large male moved to trap the raven one between himself and the other two females. Rhett made no move for the moment. The red and white wolf, who had come to shoo them away from their proximity to her pack, now moved to support the other two. It seemed the dark woman had history with these wolves, unpleasant history, and it was her foul luck that they should all find her here now, without any of her own to back her up.

He was not in the habit of poking his nose into other's business, especially if it appeared they had earned what was coming to them. He stepped back, sensing the situation would only escalate. He sensed correctly: the raven female made to leave, but the large male went in for the attack as the other dark female shifted to block her, and the red and white girl joined in.

He watched.

A small part of her hoped that she was going to leave without a fight, but she should have known that it was a hopeless thought. The Swiftcurrent wolf lunged first, his fangs tearing into her side. The priestess went limp, not resisting the wolf as he pulled her towards him, wincing at the pain but keeping her mouth shut. She kept her eyes on the male but knew that at least one of the girls that helped corner her was at her back, trapping her with the male. Meldresi was lucky, at least, that the other two wolves didn't attack, though she predicted that fighting back against the Swiftcurrent male would bring her into that painful situation. For now she stood there, resolute, determined to let this wolf take his revenge, if it meant preventing anymore conflict from a pack that no longer existed.

If she felt her resolve would placate or infuriate him, it did neither – his revenge would have tasted far better upon the flesh of the white wolf he had fought with himself, but he certainly was content to settle upon the she-wolf who controlled them. She had been responsible for them and their actions – just as he had been to Star and her trespassing.
 
His teeth met their mark – blood fell upon his lips, and as his eyes lifted to find her watching him, his lips would pull back in another silent snarl, this time, his jaws aiming for her face or ear – a scar would be quite fitting.
 
But he was not seeking to truly maim to the point of death. As moments past, Scimitar would almost forget his audience, and, apparent ‘helpers.’ His eyes, as cool as the ocean, seemed re-branded with a fire as he finally spat upon her, now taking a step back. “Leave the north. Do not return. If I see you, or your scum pack mates – the very ones who tortured my pack member to the point of near insanity.. or your wolf who tried to rape my mate.. I will answer in turn with death.”
 
And so he stood, his ears remained slick upon his skull as hatred fell from him as if a tidal wave – perhaps, it would have been in his better interest to kill her and be done with it. But then.. it would likely bring her pack mates searching for her. And he had children to think about.

Are @Meldresi and @Scimitar not going to post back and forth? If not, totally sorry I held this up!

Her brows furrowed, watching the offending female as she just... gave up and fell limp. Did she have a death wish? It seemed so as she did not even try to fight. The Amazon didn't even have words for how silly that was. Or how stupid. If you were truly an Alpha, of any pack, you did not simply throw yourself at the feet of the one out for your blood. Such a pack would be easily taken out if it ever came against another, which was very possible if she kept parading around acting like the Queen Bee of All the Lands.

Snorting, the girl remained silent as the male banished her from the Northern Realms, ears flicking backwards as he spat his reasoning. If possible, Nochtli's opinion of the dark Queen plummeted even further. Whether the wolves that had committed such crimes were gone or not, that she didn't put them to death for such deeds was despicable. She would be sure to remember these facts, and the scent of her pack, for future reference.

Saena looked on coldly as Scimitar tore into Meldresi. Surprisingly, the opposing alpha did not defend herself. Even Saena, a rather passive wolf, would've fought for her life in this situation. She had wolves to look after, and besides, she felt that life was much too important to give up just yet. Meldresi evidently did not share that opinion. She wondered if any of her followers knew that, and knew what sort of senseless woman they entrusted their lives to.

But like Nochtli, Saena made no comment. Her brows lifted at the mention of near rape. Meldresi either didn't know her wolves were complete scum or she didn't care; either way she was ignorant. Either way she was a poor alpha. But Saena knew that anyway from this one encounter, and what Nochtli said, and so she didn't for one second pity the Blackfeather Woods female for the pain she was surely feeling now.

Anyway, she was a southerner, so Saena didn't care. She only watched, certain that this is what the female deserved and certain that Scimitar's hatred was justified. Given that, she would take upon herself a similar hatred, and mark these wolves as enemies as well, who threatened any other pack in the north.

Last post from Meldresi

The Night Queen winced at the pain in her ear, the wolf tore out a large chunk, almost mirroring his own wound, but kept silent, biting her lip hard, ignoring the glares of the other women. They didn't understand, of course. She knew he wouldn't kill her (or at least, she was hoping that he would not), and took the blows in the hopes that her pack would be left alone, for the moment. When the Swiftcurrent wolf backed away, she watched him calmly, recognizing most of the crimes, except for rape. The Queen's face lost whatever mask it had, turning into silent shock. When had any of her wolves done that? And who? She hoped that he (or even she) had long since gone. But nothing she would say would get him to forgive her or her own; the deed was already done.

Without a word, Meldresi walked away without a word, heading South, where she belonged. She had been punished for her pack's, and by extent, her own. The wounds on her ear and side were burning, deep. She wouldn't forget how the North treated her. How could she, when she was marked permanently?

Posting out of turn to pull Saena out of here. Thanks for the thread! @Scimitar @Nochtli Tagging to draw attention back to this thread so it can be wrapped up between you guys. :)

As Meldresi limped away, Saena glared daggers after her. The bitch's direction suggested she was going to the south, as suspected and mostly confirmed. The vengeful white female shook out her nape and snorted distastefully before turning her head back to the others gathered.

Rhett remained nearby, but he was mostly forgotten. A single lone wolf was no trouble, and besides, he was a fool to do anything now that he'd seen the wrath of the northerners. As for Nochtli and Scimitar, Saena exchanged a glance with each of them, nodded as if to say, "good, she's gone," and then turned back toward the Rise. There was now enough evidence for the young new alpha to know they weren't going to threaten her claim, and the threat was removed, so there was no reason for her to stay anymore.

With a chuff of farewell, she loped back to her ridge.

The crone ran from the Northerners with her tail between her legs. Good riddance. She was certainly happy to see her go and no doubt Cita would be just as thrilled to hear about it. As Saena nodded, the dark female returned the gesture, looking between the others before peeling away and heading back to the Ridge. She needed to report this to Tezcacoatl, if he was even interested in hearing anything about it.

Nochtli exits.

The raven female was bested by the cinnamon male, and fled after he revealed the reason for his ire and gave the ultimatum that she would be killed upon their next meeting. The group began to break up then. The white female with the attractive red points left first, followed by the second dark female. He turned then, and quietly took his leave. He had no business in this business, and was intent to stay out of it.

The others dispersed before he did – instead, the dark agouti beast stood, rage ebbing through his veins still, even after Meldresi had vanished. The fire within him did not simply burn – it scorched – and it had been awhile since he had been the participant of battle.
 
But there had been nothing about the interlude that could be claimed as a fight. The useless she-wolf had stood there, taking his blows and revealing how pathetic she and her members truly were. He was even more disgusted with her – which was perhaps her plan.
 
Finally, he turned, making his way home.. all the while, regretting he had let the ebony female leave. He should have killed her.