Whitefish River can you dig it?

From what Styx had gathered things were going swimmingly in Neverwinter – for now, that was. He had seen lots of potential in the members he had gotten to know, and had made it quite clear to one crew mate that he would not tolerate lying among his pack. It had been for something unnecessary, but the hybrid had understood why the pale female had done what she did. It showed the Alpha that his members if his members were willing to lie for one another that they were growing close – or so he hoped. While he was confident in both himself and the silver-eyed female that led by his side, he still worried that he was going to slip up – or something was going to happen within the pack. The hybrid desperately wanted to succeed, as he saw being the leader of a pack as a challenge and Styx did not fail. He would not allow it. Since the pack had formed the long-limbed pirate had been cooped up in the pack territory, constantly patrolling the borders while keeping an eye out for potential members who came too close to the scent markers. However, his loner instincts were calling to him on this particular day and Styx found himself heading toward the river at the edge of the Neverwinter territory. He was still nervous about being too far away from the forest, but he wasn’t sure if the other pack(s) in the area knew about band of pirates yet. He was still getting accustom to the idea of being a leader – it was strange for the born nomad to suddenly shift his entire lifestyle around because some female (with remarkably pretty eyes) had managed to convince him that creating his own pack was a brilliant idea. A crooked smile worked its way onto his dark lips as he rolled his eyes at his own thoughts, spider legs maneuvering him quickly around the trees that made up Neverwinter. It was when they began to grow sparse that he knew he had reached the river that cut through the land, separating the Wilderness from the Flatlands. The sound of rushing water was comforting to the hybrid’s large, pointed ears as he drew closer, his tail giving an excited wag behind him as he lowered his slender maw to take a drink.

With a seemingly wicked grin the chocolate woman swept through the lands on her dainty paws, traveling far and wide (cue pokemon theme song in my head) across Neverwinter. It had taken a while for adjustment and she still felt like the pack didn’t really know who she was but she was often busy scouting the lands looking at the territories and the other packs. After all she wanted to make sure that there weren’t any imminent dangers lurking just beyond their borders. Otherwise she would qualify as a horrible leader that did not deserve her title at all. It was when she came across the scent of her comrade that she was increasingly aware of where she wanted to go. Styx. She thought idly as her brain automatically allowed her feet to change direction towards him. That boy was a devilishly handsome one, a play at leading her own while not really doing so on purpose. Occasionally she would find herself worried that he would find someone else within the pack that was much prettier than she or had better leading skills but who was she kidding? She was the best, paws down. No butts about it. Styx couldn’t get any better than Katrina DeMonte-DiSarinno. “Where you going handsome?” she purred, dragging alongside him in her belief that he likely didn’t want the added company. However, she didn’t care at all. He was going to get the company whether he wanted it or not.

definitely starting singing the pokemon song and now it's stuck in my head THANKS <3 His last meeting with the pack’s Gunner, Turquoise, had left the inky knight wondering what his fellow Alpha had been up to since they settled down in their new home. Her scent was still strong in the pack borders, but he had not been given another chance to catch up with the silver-eyed female. It was strange to think that during their first meeting he had hoped to never see her again, and now he was leading a pack with her – something that he had despised since he was a child. With a frown settling in across his licorice lips, the lanky yearling began to follow the river’s path. He was getting rather frustrated with how frequently the female possessed his thoughts – he was not used to being so … intrigued by another. It didn’t help that the coffee-coloured female was the first wolf he had actually had a lengthy conversation with and saw more than once… It was while she haunted his mind that her scent reached his nostrils. At first he thought it was a figment of his imagination and he mentally cursed himself for being so enthralled by the snarky girl. However, it was when her silky tone reached his pointed ears that the hybrid realized that she was actually here – and had rudely invaded his privacy. His infamous lop-sided grin painted itself against his maw as he met her gaze out of the corner of his eye, his pace not slowing as she brushed up against her side. Handsome? Well, at least he knew that she had excellent eyesight – perhaps she wasn’t useless after all. “None of your business, kitty,” he responded playful wink as he bumped her hindquarters with his own. While he wasn’t particularly fond of company he was in the process of learning how to deal with constantly being surrounded by others. It was frustrated for the rogue, but it he wanted to be a successful leader he was going to have to get over it – and soon. “How come you’re following me? Miss me?”

As Katrina stood there before the lanky yearling she found herself questioning why she had done this. Why him? Did she unknowingly yet maniacally twisted him with her words to lead beside her? Or had her choice been entirely genuine and she had wished to see him do something other than walk out of her life? She felt baffled by the situation, unsure of what to think, say or do. He didn’t make sense to her and the more she tried to figure it out, the less clear it got. “Hiss,” she remarked as he responded playfully at her and she rolled her eyes in play. He had such an attitude. With a small smile as he bumped into her hind, she gave him a playful growl. She knew what she wanted to say but feeding his ego felt wrong and unjustifiable. Katrina didn’t want to be the fan girl who rode around on her horse trying to find the Prince Charming. She definitely did not want to be anyone who swooned over some heart-throb celebrity. “Came this way to scout and maybe find a recruit along the way,” she shrugged her shoulders and followed at his side to whatever direction he went. Tail swayed gently in the background at half-mast, wishing that there was some spark of chemistry that she could feel from him at the moment. Anything at all to know that this wasn’t a complete mistake or a waste of the enormous amounts of time she had.

She was a strange creature, yet the mutt found it nearly impossible to stay away from her. And he knew that if he was to escape her it meant abandoning the pack – and that was something Styx was not willing to do. He was not about to throw away Neverwinter when he had already left behind his nomad lifestyle – all because some pretty, silver-eyed girl told him it was a brilliant idea. Shooting a side glance at his coffee-coloured co-Captain, he was unable to stop a crooked grin to fall upon his lips at her quick-witted response. As much as he wanted to keep his distance from her, the lanky hybrid also wanted to remain at her side – it was a troubling feeling, and one that the youth was not well acquainted with. To recruit? Sure. Holding back an eye roll Styx kept pressing forward parallel to the body of water, his side occasionally brushing up against hers as she matched his pace. It was a peculiar feeling – actually desiring someone’s presence… he wanted to know more about her, but he also didn’t want to have to share his own personal details. Although he was now part of a pack – and the leader of one – Styx still wanted to keep some things to himself. It was his job to know everything about the members of his crew, not the other way around. “It’s okay if you missed me, really,” he cooed in response with a thousand-watt smile pressed to his maw, the tip of his tail smacking her hindquarters playfully before he hopped ahead a few paces before allowing her to catch up. “And what does my kitty think of our pack so far?” He questioned, tone growing temporarily serious – was there any members that Kat had any concerns about? Or any suggestions on a pack activity?

The pack she felt was steady, normal like it was supposed to be. They were small in numbers compared to the packs that her mother and father had led many years ago but it was a good size for her. It was easy to manage and with everyone pitching in to conduct themselves in such a manner, she felt pleased with the experience. Of course, she also had her worries about Styx and that something would go wrong in their plan but she constantly kept her hopes up that none would come. For now, their ideas were sound and strong and it was all she could ask for. Whether she liked it or not, she wanted to lead beside Styx because he was comforting… even if he was annoying ninety-nine percent of the time. Shrugging her shoulders as to if she missed him and then watching him frolic in front of her, she felt her cheeks burn. She hated the way he made her feel, usually. The way she felt completely and hopelessly stuck to him… but how could she deal with it? “It’s… new,” she mentioned with a shrug, “Lawless is apparently a, uh, nephew of mine? He’s apparently somewhat worried about Turq? Thought, he didn’t really explain why. Any reason why he might be?” It was the only question she had in regards to the ones in the pack but at least she brought it up. Maybe he had an opinion.

As they walked side by side the spider-legged hybrid could not help but wonder what the other members of the pack thought about him and Kat. The jewel-eyed Turquoise had boldly asked him about where they stood, but Styx felt as though his answer to that was changing every day. She was certainly different than the other wolves he had encountered during his travels – she was also the first canine (prior to forming Neverwinter) that he had crossed paths with twice. Most of his encounters as a loner had been brief and were not memorable; he never asked for a name or gave out his, nor did he give out any information about himself. However, this espresso-coloured female had managed to fuel his interest and he found himself desperately wanting to know more about her. He listened carefully to her response, expression growing solemn as she explained her newly discovered nephew’s feelings about Turquoise – a wolf that the hybrid was particularly fond of. “Aren’t you too young to be an aunt?” He teased before adopting his subdued expression once more, seafoam gaze focused on her slender frame as he answered her question. “I accepted her and her… uh, companion into the pack and she’s very outspoken – doesn’t seem to have a filter. Because of that I think she may rub others the wrong way, but I personally don’t have any complaints about her. She was very enthusiastic about joining and has so far been a very dedicated pirate – she’s also taken up the role of Gunner.” Styx found it strange that he was actually speaking positive about another – the only canine he ever spoke positively about was himself (and perhaps Kat, because as far as Styx was concerned she was flawless). “I’m glad you bumped into some family, though… did you ever find your brother?” Surely he would get brownie points for remembering something mentioned in their first meeting – the one where he pretended that he was completely uninterested in her. Wait… that was every meeting… Would this whole annoying ‘I’m not really into you but I am, I’m just an asshole’ thing end up pushing the silver-eyed girl away?

In a way, she felt confused as to why she had gone out of her way to track him down. Yeah, she liked him but every time she caught up with him she couldn’t always remember why she did. Sometimes he dismissed a lot of her words or appeared uncaring in a way that attempted to push her away. Perhaps that was why she kept coming back—she wanted his approval for her presence. “Not really,” she shrugged her shoulders, “my eldest brother has probably had loads of kids by now.” It was likely, anyways. Not that it bothered her since she had never even met the guy and likely never would. Curious about what he meant by ‘companion’ though deciding to skip it because of lack of explanation, the ‘no filter’ thing was curious. That must have been what Lawless was talking about. “Hm, no filter huh? That might have been what Lawless was talking about but as long as she doesn’t get snappy or pompous towards anyone I have no issues.” Katrina was still young and therefore trying to learn things that best way that she could so this was a good thing to talk about stuff with the irritating boy. Family was of no benefit to her, not really any more. She was her own self and she did not wish to involve herself in family matters. “No but if he wanted to be found he would not have left anyways.” Styx did receive some brownie points for remembering though where family was concerned she wasn’t too sure that her siblings were there for her like she wanted them to be. They were usually all off doing other things so there wasn’t a point in chasing after them.

As much as he wanted to keep pushing her away, the hybrid felt guilty for doing so. They were supposed to be leading this pack together; if he continued to push her away he knew it would have negative effects on the pack, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. While he preferred to be a rogue and live on his own, he was determined to make this pack work – he had given up his former lifestyle in an attempt to pursue something different, and he was going to succeed. And in order to do so he needed to let the chocolate-coloured female in, no matter how badly he wanted to exile her from his thoughts. They were going to have to work together and show a united front in order for Neverwinter to flourish. Returning his attention to the silver-eyed female at his side when she responded to the comment he had made about Turquoise a smile fell across his dark lips. Shifting his paws to allow their coats to brush, the boy rolled his shoulders at her words as he watched her from the corner of his eye. “She was also asking about our relationship,” he commented, tongue rolling on the last word as he smacked her hindquarters once more with the tip of his tail. “I told her we’re doing just fine, don’t worry,” he cooed after a brief pause as he applied a slobbery kiss to her cheek. His former smile faltered as she replied to his question about her brother – the hybrid felt bad that she was not able to find him, but her words made sense. It was obvious that the coffee-coloured girl matching his pace was no longer the same wolf that he had first met in the Neverwinter forest weeks ago.

“Relationship?” Katrina opened her mouth, in awe that Styx even knew what the word meant. From the moment that she had met him she assumed that he had wanted absolutely no relationship whatsoever—not even one that classified them as friends. Although his playful smack to her hindquarters was flirtacious and fun, she wondered if he even knew what a relationship entailed in the long run. As far as she had seen she was only brushing the surface of a friendship with Styx and anything other than that likely disgusted the onyx boy. Oh well, whatever. She didn’t need to keep worrying herself about wanting to be noticed… she was young and there was plenty of time to figure things out in the future. Maybe one day down the line she wouldn’t want to lead a pack or be anywhere near Styx but for now, this was the most comfortable place she had been in in months. So, it was up to Styx and how long he wanted her to be around. “Anything else?” she casually asked, curious as to if any of the other members had any interesting qualities that the boy knew.

Her quick retort caused a small, half-smirk to fall onto his lips as he kept his gaze focused ahead of them, his brows narrowed softly. While he pretended to be disgusted by her — which, of course, he did not voice aloud that it was 'pretending' — perhaps his co-Captain was actually disgusted by him. Being a leader of a pack alongside another offered the silver-eyed girl safety that she did not have when she was by herself. Maybe stability was all she wanted and she was simply using the hybrid to feel secure — when/if she found a mate would she get them to purse his rank? Where would that leave the inky knight? Regret suddenly began to bubble within his stomach; had he made a mistake in abandoning his former gypsy lifestyle?

He did not address her first comment but returned his attention when she spoke once more, asking him if there was anything else she should be aware of. He had not mentioned the sparring practice between Turquoise and Dany that resulted in a small injury, but he figured it wasn't important. It had been an accident and had not been a serious injury; the only thing that had bothered the Alpha was that Daenerys had attempted to lie about what happened. The mutt understood that she was merely trying to protect the jewel-eyed female, but he made it very clear that he would not tolerate lying from his pack members. "Nothing else," he finally responded with a soft shrug, his eyes still focused ahead of them as his dark coat occasionally brushed against hers.

Well, that was surprisingly unhelpful. There was nothing else to report back on and it left Katrina feeling quite invisible. Kat wanted nothing more than to be as helpful as she could for Styx and the rest of the crew but she barely even knew what she was doing and she didn’t want to admit that to everyone. That wouldn’t be fair and was there really any way to keep others from leaving when they figured out that she was as clueless about leading as a squirrel was about flying? She had no clue what she could, should or would do as a leader! “Okay,” she answered with a shrug, trying to find something else to talk about that didn’t make her want to kill herself or run away from the awkward.