Blackfeather Woods And burn the gloomy world to ashes

Set right after his thread with Adelina. @Akela

Things in the woods were calm, or so the boy believed. Back in the valley, there had almost always been something happening, even if it was just one of his sisters doing who-knows-what. He found his new home to be quiet, which was something he liked and had always wished for, but after awhile he was left uncertain of what to do. There appeared to be no one around he could play with—if his “playing” could even be considered that. It was more like there was no one to roughhouse, or cause trouble, with. It seemed the only wolves in the woods were adults, and after having butted heads with Raziel in the past, he wasn’t entirely sure if targeting an elder lupine was a good thing. They were much larger than himself, capable of far more and knowledgeable in the ways of fighting. Then again, he’d been smaller back when he’d gone after the Roman, so perhaps it’d be different for him now. He hoped so, at least, because though the woman’s lesson had been highly fascinating, it had ended, and now he wished to do something else. Something that could, possibly, help him relieve the stress he didn’t even realize he had over the separation of his family.
 
Figuring he’d do best against his father, as he knew the older Inuit wouldn’t maim him, the boy started in the direction he’d originally come from. Alexander had walked a long ways, but was still confident in his ability to get back. He hoped Kove was there, but couldn’t be certain of his presence just yet. With a burning determination, the child marched forward, but ended up coming to a stop when he caught the scent of something—or, rather, someone. Taking in another breath through his nose, he was presented with the smell of a foreign wolf. Not thinking much of it, since majority of Blackfeather was foreign to him, he continued onward.

"Thank you for your words, Hermod. "  Akela thanked the raven who bowed to the wolf and stretched its dark wings to flatter away. The wolf had made an alliance with some birds in exchange for meals , protection or even shelter. They were great whispers and gathered the most useful information about their surrounding. Hermod had informed him of heavy tensions at the south. He had asked the ravens to follow Lusa, see where she was going. The beta had not expected her to be that bold in getting so close to another pack, especially one they had already tensions with, but then again, it was not a problem. BFW would not aid.

He watched the bird fly away, his ear turned to the side when he heard someone approaching.  Crowded were the woods these days. He had not yet be introduced to the new comers, not that he did not care, but the life of a beta was not as restful as one might think, especially when the beta in question was Akela. He walked towards the sounds and soon discovered a pup.  He stopped in front of it and used his nose. It seemed to be granted permission to be here.  " You must be Xan."  he spoke as a matter of fact.

The child continued to trudge forward until he heard the steps of another creature coming towards him. With the sound came the strengthening of the unknown scent, and the eventual appearance of a wolf far larger than himself—but let’s face it, nearly everyone was currently bigger than him. He trailed his eyes up the male’s form until he reached his face, then stopped walking. He didn’t know the wolf, having never met him, but somehow the elder knew him by name. That was a pleasant surprise, seeing as the Inuit often felt everyone should know him by name, appearance, and so on. It was due to the natural reserve of arrogance he’d been born with, which often became apparent shortly after speaking to him. The fact that the man not only knew his name, but had also called him by his preferred nickname, was a major ego booster. “Yeah,” he said, confirming the shadow’s words despite the all-knowing tone he’d used. “Who’re you?” He felt asking for the other’s name was the least he could do.
 
Xan didn’t wait for an answer to be given before tossing out another query. “What happened to your face?” The boy lacked a filter, as many children his age did. He felt no shame in asking the man about his flawed appearance, nor did he care to be discreet about it. There was no use in beating around the bush, after all. Especially when it came to a child's curiosity.

The older male looked at the pup. "I am Akela, beta of the pack. " he replied. Not sure it was a pleasure to meet him. Not because he disliked pups, not at all, but that one had a string of arrogance he did not like and a child curiosity that did not really rub him the right way.  " Impertinence hurt me" he sarcastically replied, hinting that he found Xan quite rude to ask such question to an adult at his age and gave the young a mocking smile.  " Life happened, kid, life happened. " he added. 

He had no reason nor wish to talk about what had happened to him. Some things just did not need to be voiced. "Have you been adjusting well to these lands ? " he asked then.

Akela. The name didn’t ring any bells, but that didn’t matter. He would at least try to remember the elder’s name, if only because he was appreciative of the fact that his own had been known. The fact that he was the Beta also played a role in the silent reminder to himself, but it only counted towards less than half of his reasoning. He considered going back on his decision, however, when his second questions was answered with a sarcastic tone. To that, a glare settled into his odd eyes, directed at none other than the man before him. The look lessened, slightly, when another answer was given, though it lacked specifics. He wasn’t one who really liked vague responses, but didn’t bother asking for a more in-depth explanation. It was a scar, so he probably got himself into some sort of trouble—trouble that Xan didn’t care about.
 
A query was sent his way, then, earning the Inuit's is focus. “Yeah,” he answered, keeping it simple at first. “My eyes don’t hurt here, and it feels nice.” He elaborated a bit, but didn’t go too far into the details on why he was liking the woods. Something about it appealed to him more than the valley ever had, though the valley had housed a wolf he’d been unable to tolerate.

The older wolf listened to the youngster and nodded. Eye problems, he could relate to some extend. " Well glad to hear your find yourself in this land. It results in high spirits and motivates work.  Have you been working on certain trades ? " he asked then. Now that he was a beta, it was also in his duties to keep track of those things and help if needed , mostly to free Burke's schedule.  He was not  one to advice, even if he could.  He would keep his thoughts to himself , as well as his opnion on life choices, cause he made some pretty terrible ones in his life.  He knew Burke didn't really like Xan nor Kove for reasons that were his own.  He did not ask, only witness. If he endured the pup instead of Burke, the alpha would surely be in a better mood and he would actually approach him without ending up sighing cause of an incoming migraine of listening to him.

As the male went on with his words, Xan could only give a nod of his head. There was a certain vibe around the woods that made him feel far livelier than he ever had back in the valley. Due to a minor case of oppression, perhaps, though he didn’t yet know enough of that concept to even begin to relate to it. In truth, however, he’d just been a troublesome child, and troublesome children were bound to be reprimanded at some point or another. It just so happened he was chastised nearly every single time he tried to step out of line, and that had never sat well with him. No matter, it was all over now. No longer was he in a territory full of family members destined to part ways with him, or surrounded by beings who worshiped a false king. He had been told there was only one ruler, Meldresi, and he enjoyed viewing the world that way.
 
Studying the taller wolf, he debated on whether or not he should reveal the trades he wished to pursue. Letting him know couldn’t really do any harm, could it? Of course not. “I’ve been working on the Warrior trade,” Xan informed him, pride easily detected in his voice. “I’m interested in the Chronicler and Naturalist trades, too.” He’d enjoyed hearing stories from his father, which had lead to him developing an interest in telling his own stories—though anything he came up with would most likely be heavily influenced by his dad’s tales. Nature, too, piqued his curiosity, but not nearly as much as the other two trades he wished to pursue. Becoming a true warrior was his top priority, even though he was still quite young.

"Warrior huh ?  "  With that attitude, he wondered just who might have had the patience to train him.  His dad probably. He had yet to meet the wolf, but he wondered if son and father were the same.  The beta licked his lips.  "We have wolves that you can associate with to learn and master your naturalist and chronicler trades. " he spoke then. The kid was going to be taught their ways, it would not be easy, but who knew, he might as well develop into an asset. Akela had no judgment on the matter. He had no quarrel with thoses wolves.


He took a step back. "Show me what you can do. " he dared the pup. He was going to play defensive,  warrior had been one of his old trades in his old pack, but here, his duties were leaning him more towards warden than warrior.  Same thing really, just more protection involved.

Even before he knew the meaning of the word ‘warrior’, Xan had known he wished to be one. The trade called to him, awakening the more feral side of his instincts. His stubbornness made him reluctant to ever back down from the offer of a battle, as did his pride. In the future, it could prove either to be an asset or his downfall, depending on how he used it. His head bobbed in a quick nod when the elder repeated his words, seeming to confirm what the child had said. “I’ll look for them later,” he said, uncertain what else to do with what he’d said. The Inuit didn’t know who he would be seeking out later, as the man had not given names, but it was good to know he wouldn’t be made to learn everything on his own.
 
The child’s head tilted a whit as the dark lupine took a step back, but the reasoning behind the movement was quickly revealed to him. Show him what he could do? No problem there—well, aside from the fact that he’d yet to actually start any real training. He knew only what his instincts drove him to do, and what had given him results earlier in life. Still, Xan wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. “Okay,” he stated lowly, queer eyes trailing over the larger wolf’s form. The last time he’d gone against an adult had not ended well for him, but surely this would be different. He was older now, he’d grown. Obviously, it wasn’t enough, but try telling the Apaata boy that. Not needing to be told twice, he charged forward, jaws opening as he aimed for the man’s ankle. Even if he managed to secure his mouth around his leg, there was no way he’d be able to do any actual damage.

Akela lifted an eyebrow.  The pup was slow, focused, but slow. He could have taken his paw away, but he wanted to see how far and how long it would take him to do whatever he had in mind to do. He looked down at him, the teeth around his paw barely making him feel any pain. But then again, that paw had been caught in a trap , nothing could compare to that sort of pain.  He bend down and bit the youngster on the top of his neck , not hard, enough to teach him that he had , with his attack made himself vulnerable. "And you're dead" he pointed out once he let go.  He took a step back.  "To be a good fighter does not mean you have to attack frontal and forget all about your defense, you'll die before reaching your first year with such a behavior" he pointed out.  "Again ... I'm going to move around, do a defensive job, while you work on your speed by following and trying to get me again.  Understood ? Good.  Go"

Added an ending.

The attack made was a success—or so he’d thought. While he’d managed to sink his little teeth into the man’s paw, doing so had left his entire body open for retaliation. He was made aware of this only when he felt teeth touch the back of his neck, and then heard the sound of the male’s voice after being released. He was told of the mistake he’d made, as well as of the more severe consequences he could be met with if his actions weren’t corrected. His odd eyes found their way to the marred face before him, ears pushed forward as he listened to what there was to be said. In truth, he’d never thought about playing the role of the defender. To charge into things seemed like the best course of action in his young mind, but it was slowly dawning on him that that wasn’t the case. It was perfectly fine to be on offense, but to succeed on such a side demanded that one think before acting, rather than charging directly into battle as the boy had just done. Someday, he would learn the ways of such strategic thinking, but for now his only goal was to show what he was capable of to the elder.

Instructions came fast, hardly allowing the Inuit a chance to breathe before he was told to try something new. A different approach to fighting, if you will. The shaded character was to play the part of the defender, while Xan worked to try and get him. It sounded simple enough, in theory, though the boy was not foolish enough to believe that would actually be the case. He was an arrogant child, far more so than anyone his age should ever be, but he was not an illogical thinker. Still, that would not hold him back. Again, he charged forward, but this time he did not take the same path as before. Though his ghostly form had appeared to be on a set course for the same paw he’d bitten into just moments prior, he veered off to the side at the last second. The sudden change in direction had his ivory coat flowing with the soft breeze, almost giving the impression of a wisp that had strayed from the grotto. It was an illusion, for now, as his legs were still too short to have him moving at such a rapid pace.

Alexander was quick to, once again, whip his little frame around and run towards the male once more. This time, though, his goal was to approach from the back and get ahold of one of his hind legs. If he did so correctly, a counterattack would not be an easy one, since the need to turn around would slow his target down. One slip up with his movements, however, and he’d end up right in the open and easily accessible for another nip. It depending on how the elder would react, in all honesty. His movements in response to the child’s could either seal the plan the boy had devised, or it could rip it to pieces. For obvious reasons, of course, Xan hoped the prior outcome would belong to him.

The rest of his "lesson" with the older wolf continued in the same manner, consisting of Xan experimenting with various methods he suspected might work. It was not an easy task for him, his size in comparison to the other posing a hindrance, but never did he give up. He kept at it until his muscles were sore, then decided that that had been enough. He'd departed the scene with a new outlook on his way of fighting, knowing he had a long way to go before he could honestly refer to himself as being the best. Such a goal would be accomplished someday, he was certain of it, but for the time being he just wanted to rest at home with his father.