Porcupine Ridge pet semetary
killing is the most natural thing in the world; we're created for it
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Ooc — ebony
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#1
All Welcome 
capriccio. taggarik. these were names far beyond the scope of vuk's pronunciation ability -- she understood them as titles, and also the words that came from the alpha pair, but was woefully unequipped to respond. yet today she was buoyed, having caught a foolish hare. there was a small hint of confidence to her step that had not been there the day prior -- slowly, very slowly, vuk was finding her place. she dug into a cache and lay the prey there -- covering it, the theta moved away, lifting her muzzle to the air to scent for any nearby packmate.

she was methodical in this, placing each name to a face, each scent to a body, filing it away for later recall. if she was strange for such, she did not know -- vuk would scarcely have cared either way.
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#2
For timeline's sake I am going to assume this takes place prior to the Saghani-shenanigans LOL.

He came across the trail of one of his newest recruits, and the telltale signs that she had found herself a hare. This, he smiled at. It meant she could fend for herself, and, as he came across the cache she placed it in, it meant she could help provide for the pack when large game eluded them. He jogged after her, hoping he might learn more of the white female, having not engaged with her since he took her on the welcome tour of the ridge.

He woofed when he saw her to catch her attention, and his tail swished behind him in a affable manner as he approached. His posture was relaxed, not commanding.

"Settling in?" He asked.
killing is the most natural thing in the world; we're created for it
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#3
lol okay

it was not long before she was joined by the alpha male, and vuk immediately made a penitent of herself, despite his neutral posture. it would take some time before she was able to halt herself from going into paroxysms of submission when a leader was about -- for now, she was the perfect picture of it, even sliding forward a bit on hunched body to lap at his chin.

when the ritual had ended, vuk peered at taggarik with a wolfish smile -- she hadn't the words to answer, but a brightness entered her eyes, and she chuffed excitedly at him. pleased to be with a pack, protected by their numbers and their scent, the girl's one purpose was to please the reigning wolves. still, it was frustrating to be without speech, caught betwixt understanding and virtual muteness. "w-wel ... l," vuk stammered out, biting her lip in consternation before she fell into an apologetic silence -- surely he would understand?
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#4
Though her submission was not demanded, she provided it, and he accepted with an appeased rumble, a waving tail, and a companionable nibble to the crown of her head. She tried to respond, and he found her struggle to speak the same she had on the borders. It was not nerves then that held her tongue captive. He cocked his head, his expression not even hinting at displeasure or judgement.

"You do not speak much do you?" He asked. "It's okay if you don't," he reassured. "Our Gamma does not talk at all. He does not understand words." Or he's damn good at charades, he thought with a brief, humorous smile.
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#5
she leant briefly into the reassuring touch of his lips against her head, and visibly relaxed as she listened to him speak. so there was another here without speech, also. vuk did not know that the gamma was without understanding of their spoken word, however; she was merely relieved that she was not alone in her curse. words brimmed within her, but she could not speak them; she cast a grateful look to her leader and lifted herself to walk some paces away, inviting him to move with her.

she wished to know the names of the pack, and so lowered her muzzle to where she scented the fading steps of anwyl and jhala, before looking quizzically to her leader. would he understand?
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#6
He did not know the nature of her affliction, and did not question it. He accepted her and her few words. So long as she could hunt and be an asset to the pack, she would be in his favor. It was good that she could at least understand what was being said to her; sometimes he wished that of his Gamma, but he could not wish for a more competent wolf to have in his ranks and so accepted him, too.

He followed along with her, his nose dipping to sniff at the tracks in the snow as she looked to him. He hummed, understanding her unspoken question, perhaps more readily because his time spent in Farstep's company had begun to train him to be all the more perceptive to subtleties in body language. "Mm, Jhala, one of our newer females. She came just before you. And Anwyl, he has been with us from the start."
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#7
anwyl. jhala. vuk filed aside the names for future reference. taggarik seemed affable enough, and so the woman gave a low chuff of understanding, ranging farther until she discovered the pungent marks left by terich-mir, and just beyond, the scent of kesan. she looked to her leader then -- vuk hoped he would not tire of the activity. it was important to the theta that she had such names within her memory, but there were other ways to garner them.
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She moved forward, and he at her white shoulder, moved with her. Not far ahead were more tracks, this time belonging to the current beta male and beta female. She looked to him again for more names to go with these scents and he smiled. "Terich-mir," he said as his broad black paw grazed the track Terich has made. "He is our beta male, and this," he said, moving his paw to Kesan's track, 'is Kesan, our beta female." He hummed as he thought about his two betas. "Terich won his position at our first hunt," he shared. "Kesan received hers by default as the second female in the pack. Capriccio took alpha female for the same reason, but she is a good leader. She is earning her place." The same he could not say for Kesan, who had been a scarce presence and limited contributer. But now, with the pack balanced, there were other females who might spur her to work harder, or who might take her rank.
killing is the most natural thing in the world; we're created for it
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#9
she licked his chin again when he had finished speaking, pleased that he had not drawn away or wearied of the 'game.' kesan and terich-mir. the titles she heard but vuk could not say them; however, it was not words she was able to speak. presently she danced aside; her eyes glimmered, and she asked that he run with her. without awaiting a response, vuk tore away, lunging through the snows if only for the sheer pleasure of it.
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#10
She was satisfied it seemed, thanking him with a chin-lick. She danced aside then, and there was no mistaking her intent. The black wolf grinned, and for a moment lowered his front quarters into a bow, before he gathered his paws and chased after her with a woof. Snow flew about his paws as they pair cut new trails through the cold down. His strides, long and powerful, brought him close enough to nip at her flying tail.
killing is the most natural thing in the world; we're created for it
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#11
they ran for the pleasure of it; vuk was able to laugh, to cry with breathy little ululations of joy as taggarik pursued her. snapping with the intent to divert, she doubled back upon her trail, but tripped! she tripped and tumbled (presumably) into his very legs, sending up puffs of powdered cold even as her laughter continued unabated.
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#12
Oops. I thought I replied to this the other day lol.

He trailed her closely, woofing and nipping, pinching errant hairs from her dancing tail and, once, even her flank. He trailed her so closely, that when she made to divert and her paws betrayed her, he could do nothing to move out of the way. They collided in a tangle of limbs and laughter, throwing snow about them as the rolled and squirmed before the black wolf extricated himself from his svelte packmate. Standing, he gave his coat a good shake.

"What happened there?" he teased.
killing is the most natural thing in the world; we're created for it
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#13
lol np

they collapsed, and when they had both gotten to their feet, vuk shot taggarik a glance of pure mischief in answer to his spoken question. what, indeed? if the girl seemed flirtatious, she did not know it. perhaps it was the product of her maturing hormones and the friendliness of his company, but the alpha had no mate. vuk knew she could not hope to secure such a rank for herself in the time before spring, and did not wish to lead, but his attention and smiles were fully welcome nevertheless.
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#14
His tease was platonic, a commentary on her sudden lack of grace for a fine creature that appeared like she would have it in spades. He shook his head with a soft chuckle. "Happens to the best of us," he went on to say, recalling several moments where his smooth, confident image had been shattered by happenstance. No one was immune to the comical whims of life.

He eyed her with a spark of mischief of his own. He still felt his breath strong in his lungs, and felt the power in his thick limbs. He feigned to run, his tail twitching to goad her, and then he bolted. She could chase this time!

Fade? :)