Blacktail Deer Plateau No survivors? Then where do the stories come from, I wonder.

Random challenge! Did a dice roll and got: @Huā

He marched his way across the plateau as if he owned the place, his body set in a rigid stance each time he encountered a deep snow drift, or his eyes narrowing when he encountered a patch of forest that was too dark to peruse. He did not like all the darkness here; it was very different from the coast where he had been nesting more recently, and Reyes was not a fan of being in this seemingly enclosed space. He wanted the open air, the salty brine, the call of the gulls - but here there were shifting trees and blustering winds replete with ice.

As he came across a canine scent he hoped it would be Nieve, but as he trailed after it, Reyes became aware of how different the scent was from what he recalled of his sister. The tracks in the snow were wider-spaced too, indicating a larger wolf or at least an older one. As the path narrowed around a thicket of frosted saplings, Reyes tensed and lunged -- hoping to grab whoever it was by the hock and pull them out of hiding.

She'd been joyful lately. Her cousin had come to Rusalka now, and another had appeared nearby. Somehow she felt that her whole family may appear magically on that coast, ready to live as they did in the south once again. 

Thinking about this and blissful as ever, she was unaware she was being stalked. Stalked as she walked lazily and mindlessly through the territory like an old man at the park. Finding a little place of icy saplings, she began to circle and circle, preparing to take a little cat nap right there.

But it was then that a stranger came pouncing from the bushes, a young boy. Huā skittered backward with surprise, barely missing the grab of his jaws. Was he an enemy? No, the scents of Rusalka lie on his fur. She narrows her eyes as tail lashes with annoyance from side to side. Was it another misbehaved child? What was it with these people, raising such entitled little kids? What you doing? She huffs with irritation, though she knew the intent was already fairly clear. This boy wanted her rank.

He missed his mark by an inch or two, but it was still enough to surprise his target and have her wheel around in confusion. She looked so out-of-sorts with his emergence that Reyes wanted to laugh in her face; it felt powerful to have someone older than him balk as if he were some sort of alien creature. Soon her annoyance was palpable, her body reacting to his antics before she gets a word out.

He circles her, waiting for another opening which he can exploit. She had been an easy target to start with; slow-moving, distracted, and foreign. Even when she spoke out against him it was with stilted words - but they didn't mean anything. Reyes' tail rose up and arched over his back; he bristled as he stalked around her, using his posture more than his teeth now to prove his point: that he deserved the rank she held.

What's it look like? he huffed rhetorically back at her. Submit and I'll leave you be.

His posture signified his massive ego and desire to take her place. Hell no. Huā was not one to challenge, but she would certainly defend herself when confronted. His words did nothing to deter her as she gave him an icy glare. What a little punk kid- once again, the locals proved they were unable to keep their children in check. Each one was more self-important than the last. 

She raises her own tail like a prideful flag hovering over her body, allowing her fur to bristle in the same way, giving her the look of a bigger wolf than she really was. Her lip curls just slightly, not enough to reveal fangs but enough to say don't fuck with me. She begins to pace in the same way he does, mirroring him with a low growl. She just hoped this would be over soon so she could go on her merry way.

He is not interested in  backing down; this was a wolf who he did not know, who was more foreign than most of the recruits. She wasn't family - there was no blood affiliation there. Reyes had nothing against the girl or her sisters. This was a natural effort to advance in rank, to prove that he was capable and worthy, and he would posture as long as it took. 

She did not seem too eager to let go of her rank, though. She was older by a bit, and healthier, and bigger. In Tortuga he could have used combat and bloodshed to prove his point; he knew that was stupid here, because they were meant to be a pack - a crew - and harming your fellow wolf was detrimental to the whole. However, as she flashed her teeth he could not stop himself from doing the same; he even, boldly enough, lunged in to her space so as to test her mettle, snapping his teeth and enforcing his presence.

The boy bares his own fangs back, lunging into her imaginary bubble, a little too close for comfort. Internally she was thrown off guard, but outwardly it did not show as she tensed her muscles, holding her ground and keeping her gaze cold. This was no time to falter. The day she let a child steal her rank was the day pigs would fly. She wouldn't let it happen, and so she puffed up her chest, an usual look for the catlike girl. 

She snaps her teeth right back, imitating him like a mime. Whatever he did, she would return it. She had little familiarity with such barbaric routines; the wolves of the southern beaches were more civilized. Rank was based on merit and royal bloodlines. Here it seemed that all a kid needed to do to rise up was snap his teeth and bare his fangs. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do- and so she would return his display of dominance until the dance was over.

She would not give in to him, that much was evident. He could push and push but she would not buckle, and the only thing he could think to do was, be more violent. Violence had worked within Tortuga - but being here among his family, Reyes knew it would not be acceptable to wound anyone of the pack. So he had to relent, and with one last attempt at bullying his way up the food chain (a snap, a lunge, but no physicality to back it up) he huffed and turned around, departing with a frisk of his tail. Annoyance was clear in the manner of his stomping paws, but he did not look back. She had been persistent and he knew there wasn't anything he could do about it - so Reyes would go off to sulk.