Porcupine Ridge pass the vodka

Romulus realised he hadn't really met any of his packmates yet; it wasn't really his fault given the fact that he had literally only been there for a few days and he had been busy working his ass off for the pack, trying to show the leaders that despite his 'terrible, arrogant and vain' first impression — which he did not technically regret doing but had to keep being submissive for the time being to prevent himself from being kicked out of the pack, butt first — he was a good pack wolf and he understood how things worked around here. For now, Rom was content with sitting around in the bottom of the ranks and working; in time, perhaps, when he gained his packmates trust, he would aim to accelerate and challenge.

But for now.....Romulus sighed, licking his right paw, like a cat and rubbing his forehead with it. Bi-colored eyes gleamed with unreadable emotion and as Rom loped forward, tongue hanging out languidly, tail held quite low as he was quite low in the ranks but the tip still wagged merrily, as if excited to do something. Truthfully, though, the yearling was going to somewhere that was not at all interesting. He was going to patrol the borders, lay his scent on the ground and show he was one of the Porcupiners or whatever they called themselves.

Boring stuff. But it couldn't be helped.

Arriving at the borders, Rom straightened, ears pricking, eyes sharp, nose twitching to catch the scents in the air. Finding nothing dangerous, the Roman lifted a hind leg and marked a bush before continuing on again, wishing internally for some company, even if it was some untalkative, submission-demanding wolf like the tawny Farstep. But then again, the second reason why he came was because there had to be some other wolves patrolling; it had appeared to be a strong pack to Rom's eyes, they better prove him right.

The benefit of not only being a founding member, but one of a smaller pack was that Capri was familiar with everyone within their ranks.
 
Or, at least she had been, until an unknown scent had made itself known upon the lands. While uneasy about having another in the pack she did not know (she was, after all, the leading female at the side of Taggarik), it was something that could be swiftly remedied, and so the silver-tipped ebony wolf wove her way toward the scent, determined to seek out the younger wolf who had joined their ranks under Taggarik's approval.
 
When she found him, he was by the borders -- hopefully marking and maintaining them, as did most of the pack. Her frosted eyes regarded him solemnly, and lifting herself higher despite her slender and delicate appearance, the female began loping toward him, closing the distance between the two. "So you're one of our newest recruits," she murmured, her tone gentle as she became closer. He was a stark silver -- much like her best friend, Terich-mir, but his eyes were bi-colored. "I'm Capri."

Romulus padded forward, stopping occasionally to lift a hind leg and spray his scent on the border or to scratch at a tree or paw at the ground to keep spreading his scent not only to tell other wolves, and other animals that this was inhabited pack territory but to show his own packmates that he was still around here and working hard. He didn't want to seem like an arrogant twit that came in just to leech of his packmates because he wasn't that sort of wolf. Yes, he did seem vain and proud, but he was also a hard worker and he knew what to do when he needed to do it.
 
The wind blew, bringing him a fresh, unknown scent. For a moment, he stiffened and his muscles tensed, thinking it was an intruder in the pack's territory but he relaxed almost immediately when he realised it was one of the wolves of Porcupine Ridge; someone he hadn't met. Good. Just as he wanted. Romulus's black tipped ears twitched and his nostrils flared as he turned, bi-colored eyes settling gently on the delicate form loping towards him. As she came closer, he noticed her strange coloring, silver and black along with eyes of pale, icy blue. He watched the way she lifted herself higher and quickly lowered himself submissively.

Ears tilted back, tail down but still wagging in a friendly manner and whined a respectful greeting as she approached. "Yeah," he answered, a smile on his features, averting his eyes to show his respect. "Capri," he tested the words on his tongue and grinned his trademark devilish smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rom. Newest member of Porcupine Ridge."

While her stance might have indicated her position, she relaxed visibly at his submission, taking a more casual approach upon their discussion. She felt no need to lord her rank over others – and thus far, the wolves within the Ridge seemed to honor the code of the hierarchy – though she wondered soon if scuffles would begin to occur as the newer wolves settled themselves.
 
“Nice to meet you,” she returned in kind, her ears flickering forward as she regarded him quietly. With a nod toward the borders, the slender she-wolf made to steer them both to continue his border patrol – no reason they could not do a round while conversing. Raking her mind for topic interests, she cast the yearling a sideways glance, a small smile shadowing her lips. “And can I ask what brings you to Porcupine Ridge?”

Being the keen observer he was, Romulus noticed her form relaxing when he submitted and noted that down. Some wolves were particularly keen on displaying their superiority over others; he didn't like them even if he technically was that kind of wolf. Deciding that this Capri was okay, he flashed her a small grin for no particular reason and wagged his tail amiably, relaxing in her presence however still keeping his submissive stance, not wanting to antagonize a potential friend. Though truthfully, not many wolves could make friends with him.

The two of them padded by the borders and with a shake of his coat and a shrug of a shoulder, Romulus resumed what he had been doing before Capri came. Pausing for a moment, he lifted a hind leg and sprayed a bush with his urine, effectively marking that area. "Winter," Rom answered honestly in regards to her question even though it may not be the one she wanted to hear. "And companionship. And a home. A new start. Many things, I suppose," he added vaguely with an afterthought. "You?'

The wolf flashed her a grin, and she felt a light smile touch her lips in return. They were all new to the Ridge, more or less, and so they would all need to determine how to work together. Getting to know her fellow pack mates was one of the best ways to do so, and she was pleased that the silver wolf seemed easy going. Had he not had bi-toned eyes, she could have considered him a near twin to Terich-mir.
 
Her own form sauntered forward as Romulus stopped to mark, her nose tipping downward to catch the faded scent of rabbit. It was long gone now, and she withheld a small sigh – the pack would need to hunt soon, but she knew Taggarik would call them when the timing was right.
 
One ear flickered at his words, and her smile softened. “Ditto,” she summarized in turn, her slender shoulders lifting in a gentle shrug as she began to lope along the borders once more. “My friend and I met Taggarik and decided to give it a go.” The two had been torn then – to join an established pack, or create one of their own. Taggarik had offered a pack just establishing.. and it had seemed like a fair compromise between the two.

The two loped forward easily, falling in to new conversation where each other seemed to investigate their pack mate further -- but neither asking personal information. Easing in to pack life was coming far easier than she had originally thought, given this was her first home away from her birth pack.