Porcupine Ridge moose notepad and jeep pen

anyone!

He would not see his wolves go hungry. He trusted them all to be capable enough of hunting small game to see them through a lean week, but knew how easy it was to suffer several misses, and to find yourself hungry. With with his own belly full of partridge, he set about to catch something else, to stock a nearby cache at the base of an outcrop.

He stole through the snow, tucking himself between trees, prowling along their trunks, as he tracked after the fresh scent of a hare. It was a flick of an ear that lead him to spot the white creature against its white backdrop, and he lowered himself to watch. It was not yet alarmed. It sat grooming itself, and the black wolf took his time in drawing closer while it was busy and distracted.

Once close, he burst from hiding, and the hare, wide-eyed, bolted. It ducked and weaved, but he managed to stay on its tail, and was awarded with a hind leg between his teeth. The hare squealed shrilly, but it was cut short as his fangs found its neck. He lifted the limp carcass, and started to head toward the cache.

She was uneasy – this time, not from her own fading confidence. No, it was because of a group of wolves setting up nearby to them, and with her form tense, she prowled through the snow, her intent quite clear – she was seeking Taggarik.
 
She found him – a brilliant ebony form against the stark ivory snow. He cut an impressive figure, and the she-wolf paused a moment to regard him with consideration. A hare dangled from his jaws – a fine catch, and with a half-smile, the co-regal softened her pace, stealing toward him with intent.
 
Her pale eyes studied him as she gained ground between them, and uttering a gentle bark, she aimed to gain his attention.

He turned toward the bark, his gray eyes alighting on the supple form of his alpha female. His tail waved in welcome, and as he grinned around the hare he was prompted to drop it at his feet. "Are you hungry?" He asked as he stepped forward to meet her, his teeth clipping the plush fur on one cheek before he bent to nudge the hare toward her.

A trill went up her spine the moment he made contact with her, but she suppressed it – a small smile faltered to her muzzle for only a moment, but then she gave a swift shake of her muzzle. “It appears we might have neighbors soon – very close neighbors,” she rumbled, her tone edgy as she gave a roll of her shoulders, attempting to release some of her agitation.
 
Nothing had been forthcoming before – but scents did not lie, and the ebony she-wolf’s scent was practically at their borders constantly, given the proximity. “I don’t like it,” she noted, as if she had to reiterate this despite the gravel of her tone.

He had not had a chance to tell her of his suspicions; but it seemed she had found out on her own. He hummed and nodded. She was keen, more a leader than she gave herself credit for. He believed she would grow into her role, and become all he hoped for his alpha female.

"Yep, I smelled them too," he murmured, his own dislike evident in the drawn out way he exhaled. He did not draw back from her this time, lifting his muzzle instead to brush the soft edge of her ear. "I'd like to speak to them, but I haven't seen them yet." He did not yet know that she had met one of them.

The ebony wolf did not step away from her, as she was accustom to him doing at this juncture of their greetings. Instead, his touch would creep to the edges of her ear, and rather than pull away, the silver-tipped woman allowed a gentle sigh to escape her, tipping her own muzzle up to graze his cheek affectionately. His touch was no doubt only merely meant to soothe her, and she could not read too far in to any of it.
 
"I did -- I believe she's the aspiring Alpha," she murmured, though she had yet to pull back, and the words almost melded to the nape of his fur where she briefly touched now. Finally she did pull back, her frosted eyes glancing to his cheek. "I did not realize she was thinking of actually settling there.. I told her our pack was not very far." She paused, offering a derisive snort. "I'd like to remind her of that by taking a few members down to show her."

He turned his cheek into her touch, but as she spoke, she drew back and he did not seek to press into her space again, instead he quietly regarded the fine features of her face.

He quirked a brow at what she said. "So she knows about us and still thinks it'd be wise to settle so close?" It certainly seemed that way, and grumbled with irritation. "I think that may be a good idea. I do not wish to lead us into war," he said softly. It was too much risk for something that was not yet a problem; yes, they're encroachment could threaten their sustainability later, but for now, the ridge provided for them. "But I will not, at the least, allow them to forbid us from accessing the eastern edge of the range." He reflected momentarily on what Jhala had said, her concern that that pack may steal from their potential recruits.

Tension rose along his spine and spread into his shoulders, causing his jaw to set tight, his lips to purse, and his ears to flick backward. He shook himself to displace it, and sighed. "I cannot help but feel mad at this," he admitted.

Taggarik’s reaction was far more logical than Capri’s, and she refrained from allowing a huff of irritation sweep past her jaws. Her desire to forcefully remind their new neighbors of their pack numbers should they not change their mind very much resembled a veiled threat – and her ebony counterpart was quick to press a more peaceful route.
 
He was not wrong, though – the female had seemed decent enough, though clearly snake-like in the way she had pretended to take Capri’s words to heart.
 
He admitted his anger, and she felt a small tug of agreement upon her breast, her eyes drifting upward to study him quietly. “As am I. They threaten our resources, Tagg. Our paths along the mountain. Everything.” She gave a shake of her muzzle then, a gentle scowl creasing her brows.

He hummed a gruff note, his head bowed as he looked to the snow, as if some answers, some direction, might be sketched there for him. But there was none. He had to trust his instinct as a leader, and his heart which held the best interests for his wolves, to guide him. "For now, our resources are guarded inside our borders," he said. He hoped he would not see the morning when the pack needed to step outside their home to hunt or drink but he was prepared to act if he needed to."I will make sure we are able to move around them. In the meantime..." he shook his head, the tone of his voice rising to reassure. "We are strong. We will be fine. Perhaps their stay will be short." He shifted closer to her, and reached out to preen one shoulder blade.

His words did not resound with her own thoughts – herds migrated, and the ebb and flow of prey within territories was always drifting. To place all of their resources upon the one sole land they primarily claimed, rather than the neighboring territories as well, was equivalent to the she-wolf as shooting themselves in the foot. But Capri had not lived upon a mountain before – and she could only hope now, at this point when it was becoming too late, that he was right.
 
She only offered her consent to his decision in form of silence – unable to push aside her own worries. Her gaze lifted to study him quietly as he began to preen at her shoulder, and she felt herself relax. “You place faith in things that could otherwise be in your control,” she commented then, her muzzle tilting slightly. “Why?”

He was content to preen debris from the soft strands of her fur, but her question caused him pause, and he drew back to hold her periwinkle eyes. Irritated though he was by their decision to settle in their buffer, those areas immediately surrounding their claim, his mind was rooted by logic, and his heart by his concern for his wolves. It shaped his decisions into what they were, and his confidence held him fast to them.

"I work with what I have, with what is now," he explained softly. "I cannot make decisions based on what could be, what may never be. What I know is that my wolves do not not hunger and do not thirst. They are safe and well. I cannot risk their health or their lives on something that may never happen; on hypothetical problems."

His expression darkened, his brow knitting over his brows and his mouth turning downward as his voice became somber and firm. "I will be first to set teeth to their hides if that changes." He would fight for his pack.

But only when it was needed.

Sorry for the wait! Fade?

She remained contently within his embrace – the casual comradery between pack mates was a welcome thing, and perhaps what she had missed the most from Argent Creek, despite having Terich by her side. The swarthy Alpha explained his reasons, and while she admired him for his beliefs, she was hesitant to hold these strangers in the same trusting regard. It was possible by letting this pack settle upon their doorstep was indeed risking the Ridge wolves health and safety – but now only time would tell.
 
He then spoke that he would be the first to lead the attack should anything change. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” she scoffed playfully, her eyes flashing at him as she pulled away with an energetic bounce. Taggarik was a mighty form to behold, and she held no doubt the sureness of his prowess. But as far as she was concerned, he was a gentle giant.
 
With another flashing glance, Capri began to lope off, quietly encouraging him to join her in a quick run should he so wish.

No worries! <3 Yep!

Her assessment of him was more or less correct. He was a benign soul, and generally passive and easy going about most things. But he was fiercely protective of his pack, of those he cared about, and so his promise to be the one to lead the charge was not an empty one. Little did either know, as they set off in a quick run, that he would have to prove it in the days to come.