Beric had been doing his best to make sure the borders were secure, and had decided to do a bit of hunting, as well. Walking along the shoreline, he spotted a rather large crab and went after it, zigzagging to keep up with it. He hadn't ever hunted crab, so this was a learning experience. The crab stopped abruptly and he didn't think twice about going for it. His jaws opened wide but before he could close them on the little creature, a sharp pain went through his upper lip. He yelped and jerked his head back, but it seemed the crab was hanging on with a very sharp claw. Beric jerked his head from side to side, trying to get it off. It was a few moments of non-stop pain before it finally let go. The large male did not go after it again. He may have been bigger, but he was just defeated by a crab.
He watched it scurry into a hole, a low growl coming from his throat, signaling his displeasure at the change of luck he just had. The blood dripped from his lip and his tongue shot to lick it away. Turning towards the water, he waded in just a little and lowered his head so that the water splashed against his muzzle. He was no medic, but he knew running water was good for trying to heal wounds, and still water could make it worse. The ocean wasn't a river of rushing water, but it wasn't a lake, either.
Deciding his hunting was over for the moment, Beric laid down in the shallow water and let the waves crash into his chest.
Eddie slowly walked toward the water to cool off, suspiciously eyeing the clouds above. "Give 'em five hours and you might expect a drizzle," the she-wolf said, looking at the grey wolf in front of her.
She laid herself in the shallow water and rolled around, tongue lolling out to cover her droopy lip. Then she saw a crab walking sideways nearby and pounced on it, but immediately ran off to Beric's side. "You can loose a tooth if you try to bite 'em. Or a nose, if they're quicker."
It wasn't long before he was no longer alone. A female, her coat a mix of grays and blacks, came walking slowly up. He couldn't hear her pawsteps over the crashing of the waves, so it was a good thing his gaze had been lazily looking around, or else he might have been startled. Following her own gaze, he looked up to the clouds. They were looking rather dark and ominous. You may be right, he replied, his voice loud enough to be heard over the crashing of the waves.
She seemed playful, rolling around in the shallow water before trotting over to him, and then he noticed the crab scurrying off. He ran his tongue ran over his recent injury caused by the very creature. Yes, I've found that out the hard way just earlier, he said, his voice conveying his distaste for the small, albeit tough, little thing. Turning his attention to her, the wind allowed him to easily notice her scent. Obviously, she was of the island pack or else she wouldn't be here, but the scent didn't seem strong enough for her to have been here very long. I'm Beric, he said simply.
Eddie chuckled at the small scar that the crab left on the other wolf's nose. He could pretend that was a battle scar. And a battle it most likely was, to get the crab off.
"Name's Eddie. I'm new around here," the black she-wolf said. Good thing Beric didn't try to attack her, so maybe the stranger-wolf's story was correct. The wolves around here seemed rather friendly and all. She wouldn't like angry mean direwolves for packmates.
"I was born and raised around here, but it seems like not much has changed during the years I was gone," she mentioned. When she was a young yearling there were more loners on the beaches, though.
Hello and greetings!
She woofed out happily over the sound of the waves.
She padded in on closer toward the pair and observed the crab scurrying about angrily waving its claw up towards her. Ypres backed away from the crab not seeing this sort of creature before. She eyed it wearily as she circled it, keeping her eyes on it as it seemed to follow her movements.
What is it? I can't trust this thing..
Ears folded back as she bared her hooks and snapped at it as she backed away. The crab followed her and she ran from it with a shriek. The crab lost trail of her and went about its way and so did Ypres... Nice first impression. A wolf who likes to fight win or lose was chased by a crab...
Wimp..
She eyed the pair nervously and offered an embarrassed sheepish grin lowering her head and tail but wagged it with an embarrassed chuckle. Regaining her neutral posture, she introduced herself.
I'm Ypres.
It was an awkward moment indeed.....
At least his little cut had brought a chuckle to someone. Maybe he would laugh about it later... after he caught its relative and was chomping into it. He felt his revengeful thoughts were better left in his head, and so just smiled.
Eddie, as she called herself, first admitted she was new, but then said she had been born and raised here. What made you leave and come back? He asked boldly. It was probably none of his business, but he was curious.
Another voice reached his ears, and he turned his head. He had just met Ypres recently, so knew she was a friend. The very same crab he had just battled with seemed to be on the warpath still, this time at the other female. He held back a chuckled, knowing it would not be nice to laugh at her. Yeah, those things are not very friendly, he said instead. I just lost a battle with it myself, he added, thinking it might make her feel better. He nodded to her introduction, Yeah, we met the other day, with Naya, he responded. Though, maybe the two females hadn't met each other yet.
While she was still trying to figure out the mysterious hostile animal, Eddie answered to Beric's question, "Wanderlust, I guess. I've matured since then though. Every wolf must settle down at one point or another." She knew that it wasn't a very descriptive answer, but Beric would have to make do. The big she-wolf wasn't too keen on talking about her past, even though it wasn't particularly tragic.
"Name's Eddie, nice to meet ya," she introduced herself again, tongue lolling out to cover her lip defect. She turned her grey muzzle to Beric. Naya? There were more and more wolves joining since Eddie did. Well, as long as they weren't too naggy and violent and prickly.
Eddie was right about one needing to settle in their lives at one point. However; Ypres was drifting on those thoughts still. She was searching for a place where her heart felt as though it belonged. Thus far it was here; but not with the others... Ypres decided to keep her mouth shut for once and listened as Eddie introduced herself; she offered a smile and a simple nod. She was feeling quite lethargic; roaming all day and it was time for some needed rest.
Beric nodded quietly in response to Eddie. He seemed to get the hint that the story to be told wasn't to be told to him, and he respected that.
Once Ypres introduced herself, Eddie looked back to Beric, though didn't say anything. His head tilted in a silent question. Did she want to say something? He waited to be sure before switching his gaze between the two females. Are you two settling in okay? As Delta, he felt he was high enough in the rankings to take an interest on the individuals of the pack, making sure they felt at home. He understood that there was an adjustment period when new wolves entered the pack, especially when that pack was newly formed and trying to settle itself. Everyone was trying to find their own niche in the world, and that could take some time.
Eddie looked over to Ypres. A stocky, small she-wolf with distinct icy eyes. She looked fierce as her flame pelt, quite opposite from Eddie. Except that they both looked rather masculine - Ypres with her stocky body without distinct feminine curves and Eddie with her very tall, athletic build and droopy lip. Ypres still had an attractive feel to her, she had a clear, self-assured gait instead of Eddie's clumsy tripping.
"How did you do first?" The large she-wolf looked at Beric. To her knowledge, he was one of the wolves who joined Majesty first, so he must know something about the beginnings of Wheeling Gull Isle.
"I'm fairing just fine, I see you're doing quite well. "
She yipped with a wag of her tail. She turned to look at Eddie.
"Fine day to you both.."
She then began to pad off to finish her duty in patrolling the borders to secure them. She knew she needed to work triple time, and therefore there was no rest after Horizon Ridge's threat.. Ypres flicked her tail in final greeting to offer a goodbye, until a later date......
The mood had changed between the trio, that much he could tell, he just wasn't sure why. Ypres gave him a tight smile, answered his question, and then she was off. He frowned as he watched her go, wondering if he had said something offensive, but he didn't think he had. His gaze went back to Naya.
He shrugged a little, I did alright. I mostly focused on my duties, and am just now really getting to know the other wolves in the pack. My social skills need a little fine-tuning, he said with a grin. I'm used to being around wolves, but the ones I grew up with were pretty much blood related in one way or another, so it's different that joining a pack as an adult. In a family pack, personalities tended to run in the same direction without much friction. When you put adult wolves together who have all sorts of personalities, things tended to get a bit rough at times, and that could be hard to handle for some.
"I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes you just don't get what it was you did that made the other wolf leave," she hinted at Ypres, but it was true in general. Although Eddie liked to think herself a pleasant, easy-going fellow, sometimes she didn't get some social clues.
"Wolves growing up together just have these little hints and clues and warning signs that they don't like something and they understand each other, but a newcomer wouldn't," the black she-wolf splashed the water with her paw.
"Though pack life's hard in more than one way for me. For example, I don't really know what I ought to do." When she was alone, she usually hunted all the time, but now food wasn't lacking. She sometimes checked the borders, but she often forgot that because she was used to scenting the air and running away in case she smelled any foreign scents.
He nodded in agreement. They could be as polite as possible and still not everyone would be happy. However, he still couldn't shake the feeling that it was somewhat his fault she had walked away. Maybe he would try to get with her later and apologize.
He agree, too, that wolves who knew each other a long time could communicate better with each other, which gave them a one-up on a newcomer to the pack. True. But, if you have good wolves in the pack, they should be able to help new pack members feel comfortable. After all, it just became their home, as well. And they had every right to be there, just like every other wolf.
His ears perked in attention when she admitted she didn't know what to do. Well, what are you good at? he asked. Usually you can take something you're good at, or even interested in, and turn it into something that can help the pack as a whole, he added.
"I sure hope everyone's as friendly as you here," she wagged her tail slowly. Beric here seemed like a real nice guy.
"I don't really know about that," the black she-wolf laid her head down on her paws. "I'm probably somewhat alright at hunting. I've traveled a lot in my time, so I know how to get about on any terrain really and a few herbs and how to track weather... but that's it. Not very useful." She stopped herself before she mentioned something she'd regret.
It was okay. Hopefully she would never need to prove her fighting inability.
He smiled at her compliment. Thank you, he replied, his tail wagging. It wasn't often he got a compliment from a woman, and it felt nice. You're pretty nice yourself. The others I've met are, too, he added. He hadn't met them all, though the ones he had were pretty friendly.
She wasn't confident about her abilities, but he seen a lot of potential when she said what she was capable of doing. Those are great traits! If you're used to traveling, you'd be good as an Outrider. And predicting whether is important for hunting, as well as the overall safety of the pack, which is what Naturalists do. He hoped she had some motivation, because her skills were perfect for those trades. You would be perfect for those, he added, smiling to her.
"Well, that's what Majesty said, too, but I'm not too confident they can be applied in pack life," Eddie said, "sure, when you're nomadic it's very important you can tell if tomorrow is rainy or sunny, but here the weather patterns are simple enough for a pup to follow and dangerous events are rare." Most wolves just didn't pay enough attention to such a minor thing as weather. Which proved it wasn't of utmost importance, unlike the food store.
"It's not like this pack needs to discover new lands or territory," she added, then sighed. Then she decided something and got up, shaking the water out of her black fur.
"Well, talk's cheap. I'll go make some use of myself by the Totoka river. Take care!" The she-wolf wagged her tail and smiled, not concealing her defect, then ran into the distance working her long Mackenzie legs.