Blacktail Deer Plateau court dramas

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Pura was making an effort. He stopped clinging to the very edges of the pack's claim, allowed himself to be seen, and occasionally greeted his pack-mates with the stiff, unusual orientation of the lips that might pass for a smile.

It was difficult to say what had changed. Not long ago, the rising tide had pushed him against the outer rim of the Plateau's reach - into the unclaimed forests and mountains, away from prying eyes. Then, as though release from a bowstring, he was catapulted back into the center. To Pura, it felt like a release of pressure. He went about his days with a lightness in his step, and a goal in his heart. Purpose.

Despite this, Pura knew that his social progress would be slow. He was not much of a talker, preferring to engage pack-mates in shared activity as a method of bonding with them. Today, he sought to do just that - be it sparring, patrolling, or some other banal but necessary job. The freckled leviathan moved slowly between the trees, watching and smelling for signs of a nearby pack-mate.

Ideally someone who will do a dice spar. :D

Notice me senpai!

The lanky teenager loped through the snowy wood, the weather surprisingly nice for a day in the dead of winter. Like a sprout, Valtýr had shot up in height. However, certain parts of his figure had yet to fill in. His chest was narrow, breast shallow and thin. To another it may have looked as if he was assembled by nothing but twigs... but it meant everything to Valtýr, who yearned for change and his own strength.

He did not know of his mixed heritage, a sire of the cold north and a mother who hailed from the tepid south, but he had inherited features from each. He would always be slight in physique, but a chiseled visage hinted at things to come.

A flash of mottled grey caught his eyes. Pura was on the move and Val was eager to accompany him. There were only a few wolves near his own age, which drove the boy to forge some sort of camaraderie between them.

Shall we forward-date this a bit?

Pura let him follow for a time, weighing blissful solitude against the necessary evil of socializing. He had lofty ambitions, and they would not come about on their own. But Valtýr wasn't all bad. Thin and sometimes screechy, but Pura enjoyed his company nevertheless. "I can hear you," he spoke straight ahead, as if it had been the younger boy's intention to stalk and not follow. "You're not very quiet."

Sure thing :) Val is ~7 mos now... and all legs haha

Pura's sudden baritone voice made the sandy teen jump in surprise before he galloped over to titan. A certain scooby-doo grin brightened the youth's otherwise depressive features, posture hunched deferentially besides the mottled wolf. While others saw Pura as a binary, unequivocally objective man, Valtýr felt that there was much more behind the Virtúte's petrified mask. He enjoyed his company to the point of friendship - perhaps blindly so - and deeply desired to learn all Pura had to teach.

"I'm not," Val admitted sheepishly while his gilded legs crunched in the snow. The unusual nature of Pura's tour in the Plateau's center did not pass the Sveijarn unnoticed... but then again many new things were happening in these parts. For one, a new and indulgent scent was in the air. Though he was too young to know it, Osprey and Kesuk's cycle were both coming into term. "Where were you headed?" he asked in a lively tone, hoping to engage Pura in study or play.

"I'm not," the youth agreed without doing anything to address the situation, crunching across the frosty ground until he reached the larger wolf's side. Theirs was a peculiar partnership, but it seemed to work. Pura would even go so far as to say he enjoyed the routine of it - and more so the power of being in charge. It was almost thrilling.

Pura was physically larger and lacked the playfulness of a normal boy his age, exacerbating the few months that separated his and Valtyr's ages. To his surprise, he had amassed a great deal of knowledge in his short life - mostly around stalking, observing, and dealing with meat. Most recently, he had peeled the face clean off a wolf, but Valtyr wasn't to know that.

"What do you want to be?" Pura asked instead of answering the question, continuing on in the direction of the northern border.

Valtýr didn't mind one bit that Pura detracted from his question, returning his own in its stead. The topic was deep, however, and caused the sandy teen's brows to pinch quizzically. What did he want to be? It was a big ask -- one Val didn't take lightly. He wanted to be a wolf like his father and mother had been: strong, wise, protective... but he felt himself too immature and soft. He was only seven months and still didn't feel he had a good sense of self. How could he possibly know what he wanted to strive for? His only ambition so far had been to befriend Saena and Pura -- the latter roped into a mentorship probably against his choice.

He paced next to the patterned sociopath silently for a short time, hunching dark shoulders in thought. "I guess I liked how Blue healed junior..." he tried to explain to the obviously physical Pura, "I'm too skinny. I can't be a warden, like you." Val's gaze slid down his gaunt limbs as he confessed his bodily insecurities. He didn't look anything like the adjacent broad titan, though it was pretty plain to see he lacked the vinegar, as well.

"I guess I liked how Blue healed junior..." the boy pondered out loud. Pura sneaked a quick sideways glance at his companion and confirmed that yes, Valtyr was all legs. At his age, Pura was well on his way to resembling a fully fledged adult. He considered offering a consoling white lie - a valid social tool whose purpose Pura understood, but it was rarely offered. "Skinny wolves have jobs too," he said instead, pausing to stare into the trees after an unfamiliar scent wafted past. It had the same sweet smell as rotting flesh, and he inhaled it deeply. "You can be an outrider. Or Blue will teach you to heal."

Perhaps Pura would be invited to spend more time with the pups if his own charge entered into Blue Willow's service..

Pura's comment, though not sugarcoated, was uplifting. "You think she would?" Val asked, perking up at the prospect. Blue Willow seemed so busy with her new brood... it was hard to imagine the dark woman had time to take on a new pupil. Perhaps in the spring when the cubs would be a bit older her schedule would be free. For now, the juvenile was perfectly happy to learn from Pura. "She put herbs and ointments on Juniors legs," he began to explain, "and helped her through the fever." It was like magic to the young Sveijarn -- bringing someone back so near the edge. Unbeknownst to him, one could choose to send a wolf to their grave with the right dose of water hemlock, nightshade, or poppy.

"What do outriders do?" he asked, gaze sliding to his mentor.

That seemed to appease Valtýr, who promptly resumed chattering about the various ways in which Blue Willow was wonderful. And she was an asset - Pura did not deny that. It was her children that concerned him, though less now than after his initial discussion with Saena. He had given up on the idea of killing them - at least for now. There were other ways to satisfy his needs.

"Outriders run," the titan answered flatly. "You explore and report back. It's important," he emphasized. "And dangerous. You could die out there."