Porcupine Ridge keep it in your pants, son

@Saghani @Capriccio @Farstep See how this goes, Saghani and Tagg might post a few times first and then Capri and Farstep can hop in! I pondered how Tagg might think and act for a long time and... well, WINGING THIS BECAUSE IDK LOL

She followed him, and he thought her strange, unaware of how she took their meeting. It was like the classic example of the man who takes a woman home from the bar, and she refuses to leave in the morning, leaving him with a multitude of question marks dancing above his brow. It had been a one-time encounter for him, but as she positioned herself at his shoulder and walked astride at him, trying to prompt him into another round, he started to wonder at her intentions.

In most circumstances he would not mind having a wolf follow him; this was how he had acquired one of his most loyal and valuable packmates. But the pack was full. So as he drew close to his borders his determined gait slowed, and he spun to face her, blocking her path, barring her from going forward. He had submitted to her control out in the wild, but he was home, this was his domain, his kingdom, and it showed in the proud lift of his head, the commanding arc of his tail above his hips.

Saghani had moved with him for the while, and they moved in silence together. Each gesture she did demonstrated her intent, her meaning. While Saghani felt she had not left any ambiguity in the fold of what she had done, as they arrived to his homestead the woman found that someway, somehow, he had misread it all. Saghani observed him without mirth or ire. Instead, she gave him a cool, pointed look. He had made a decision out there in the place he had not lay claim to, and whether he liked it or not, he had lay claim to her out there. He brought to the fold a woman who knew her heart and who felt that her life led up to this very moment.

Her homecoming was off to a tentative start, but she would put it to rights swiftly. Saghani stared at him, and her posture matched his but did not go beyond that. Saghani took another step closer, her ears melting atop her head for a brief moment to show she understood, but they fanned upward to represent her own response. Together. Saghani would have balked at how he had fashioned the primitive woman she was, but this did not occur to her, because it seemed he had no qualms in laying with her when she presented herself to him; she took each moment he was atop her as a deepening of their oath. 

Saghani could not see how he did not understand, not being as imaginative as he was to conjure up the idea of a one-night-stand. She took a possessive step forward, now, though not toward the land, but toward him. He had sealed his fate with her, and she felt he needed no reminding.

lmao... I am so amused.

He could see that she understood, and he could also see that she did not intend to leave. She rose to match his posture, and he bristled, his lips sliding up over his fangs to reveal a glance of them as a low growl started deep in his chest. Most would have received an aggressive charge from him at this, as he sought to take them off their feet and clear their mind of any doubt of his status here in these lands; but he was restrained momentarily by his perplexion at the situation. Though he had a paw in her world, he had lost touch with the ancestral way of taking a mate. In the language of the wild, in her language, she was his mate. He had made her so.

But this, he did not yet understand.

"If you can speak, now's a good time to do so," he said firmly. "What are you trying to do?"

Saghani watched him, each change a match striking against flint within her soul. But she would not be averred from her task, not after their consummation! He did not come against her, or charge toward her to send her off, and so Saghani was as rooted to this place as the mountains were for the time. His question was regarded and rolled off of her shoulders, and she looked to him then, confounded by the words which she interpreted, and which she felt must be rhetorical. He had submitted to her, he had appealed to her, he had courted her swiftly and she had answered the feral call he had instigated. 

She stepped toward him gingerly, still smelling of him completely, as he smelled of her, and moved to reach her muzzle toward him, toward his chin. We are mated, came her gravelly voice, thick and rough in its disuse. I am with you— Yellow eyes panned toward his own, watchful of his expression. You know this. After all, she was still standing here because of it.

The day was promising – Capri wished to pull some of the larger and more confident members of the Ridge to sweep along the still unmarked borders of the Thunderdome and remind the she-wolf of her words – packs in such a vicinity were not ideal, and while she agreed with Taggarik and did not wish for war, she also would not allow another to set up shop upon their doorstep. It would only hinder both packs.
 
She was usually upon the borders, and this day was no different. Her pale eyes fell upon Taggarik, and her pace quickened, eager to discuss matters with him. The wind had been downward of her nostrils, however, and hid their visitor from her sight until she was closer. Her gaze swept over them both curiously – Taggarik, placing himself before the female, intercepting her at the borders. Another potential joiner? Likely a collection for his growing harem, she mused darkly to herself, her pace quickening. The Ridge was full however – the stranger had better bring forward something impressive for them to feed yet another mouth.
 
Gaining upon them, Capri’s ajws opened to offer a greeting, her form lifting to its natural height of dominance. She had solidified her role thus far, and held no intentions of relinquishing the title until Taggarik found a mate – and then she heard the woman’s harsher tones.
 
Mated. Both of them. She did not falter upon her stance, but something within her heart cringed. Coolly, she took them both in, her tail arcing higher over her back now as she wasted no time. “And who is this, Tagg?”

She held no hold over him, but it did not mean the thought had not crossed her mind. Had there ever been a time where she had felt like a woman scorned, it was now, and her features became stonier with each passing second, waiting for the explanation -- that her co-leader had picked someone from outside of their ranks and brought her home.

Farstep's patrol would bring him face-to-face with Capriccio eventually, the pair of them unwittingly travelling opposite ways around the border, but not before the Alpha female discovered Taggarik and an unknown female. Farstep lagged behind, and spotted Saghani just as Capriccio was speaking to the Alpha male. The tawny wolf's ears and tail shot up and he approached at a canter, ready to intercept Saghani at the borders, but when Capriccio materialized and he caught sight of Taggarik in the strange wolf's vicinity, he slowed.

Yet he did not meander away, as he ordinarily would have, for Saghani's confident posture and seeming familiarity with the Alpha male gave him pause and tickled him in all the wrong ways. He slowed as he approached, circling around the dark-haired Alpha male to stand somewhat nearer to Capriccio. His blue eyes were on Saghani, however, and his lip twitched with displeasure at her display. It ought to have been Terich-mir who stood amongst the leading pair to intercept this woman and to find fault in her actions, as it was the right of the leaders and not their subordinates to intervene in border behaviour, but Farstep's presence and the fact that he stopped to watch rather than moving along told a lot about his opinion on the pack's current Beta male. That he remained suggested he felt himself entitled to be part of this decision, once he puzzled out exactly what was happening.

He didn't make a sound, and his tail stirred only once as he settled into the tension of the moment. His eyes turned slowly to Capriccio, curious.

@Terich-mir tagging in case you wanted to join too.

He did not move as she stepped toward him, but even as she touched her muzzle to his chin his fangs did not disappear; it was not until she spoke did his countenance shift to an unreadable stare. He did not like that she met his eyes, but he was confounded by what she said. She had taken the confident alpha of the ridge off his game, in a way.

He side-stepped out of reach of her, taking back some of his own space with an irritated twitch of the tip of his tail. But before he could say anything in response, Capriccio, in full alpha dress, arrived, followed soon after by Farstep. She was not impressed. He could see it, he could feel it; even if he did not understand all the exact reasons she was upset with him, he would know soon.

"I don't know," he said calmly, his unwavering stare never leaving the black woman and his posture still held dominantly. He would answer Capriccio in the same breath he tried to explain the catastrophic communication failure to the loner. "I did not even know she spoke until just now." It occurred to him rather quickly that she must have understood his jest before. "I thought she might be like..." he jerked his head toward Farstep. "So I fished for a reaction, for her to speak, by asking something ridiculous. I asked her if she wanted to have sex."

He rolled his shoulders as apprehension crept up his toes. He suspected that, no matter what he said or did, he was bound to have two sets of teeth turned on him. "She never answered, but it happened," he admitted. "She followed me home, and as you may have heard, believes she is my mate." He slowly, gently shook his head, hoping that the primal woman would understand she had been mistaken in his intentions. "She is not."

Terich is here and watching from a distance. Feel free to skip me at any time. <3

As one of his many roles as beta, Terich-mir patrolled the borders more often than not. Earlier he had seen Capri along the way, paused to talk for a brief moment, before going on his way. He hadn't seen Farstep yet or seen Taggarik in some time, and had wondered where the males had been. Their pack was growing, which was a good thing in his eyes, but not knowing where the alpha was stirred worry in his heart. 

Terich had reached the spot where the ridge grew from the hollow's land, where their borders were secure naturally, and turned around to follow his path back the way he came. As he neared the heart of the pack's territory, and the place upon the borders that most wolves would cross, the wind blew scents across his nostrils and his heart raced. Taggarik, Capri, Farstep, and a stranger. Terich quickened his pace and finally crested a small knoll from which he could view the scene: Taggarik with a dark woman nearby, Capri and Farstep watching, waiting for an explanation. He could see Capri's face: she was livid, though, and the look in her eyes iced even the blood in his veins.

For now, though, he remained a handful of yards away, studying the situation. He wouldn't intervene unless he was needed, but he did give a soft yip to indicate his presence to all involved.

Saghani watched his reactions, watched him move away after she had spoken. 

Others approached, but Saghani did not defer to them as she believed her life with him to be sealed, and had the mind to rise to sit beside him on his throne due to it. Saghani had come here prepared to do what she must do so that she might rise, and felt her ducks were presently in their row. Saghani would allow whoever led to have the courtesy of knowing why it was she had come from Tagg, but as her eyes drifted toward her and she stepped nearer to the male she felt the answer was clear. Saghani did not move to accost the other yet, if only because his wariness painted a different light upon him, one that made her desire to hear how he would react to this question before anything else. 

It was quite typical of her character to observe and to listen, to learn what others would not have her learn through her silence and what seemed to be compliance. Saghani was an opportunist, but only as much as any ambitious wolf ought to be if they sought to survive this world. There was no cruelness or bad intent toward the woman who presently led; it wasn't personal. To Saghani, Tagg had become hers. Not once, not twice, but some times over! 

So, as he spoke, Saghani herself was thrown off balance. They had moved the entirety of the way here, side by side. 

You submitted to me, came her words, You were mine, and I was yours. They were slow, they were steady. But her warmth had faded toward him. She had thought him a beast of merit and of worth. His admittance told her he would give himself to any who offered, and Saghani felt the eyes of the others upon him, upon her, and her conviction in them—which would have meant everything—fell to the wind. Saghani was not sure what to do, then. She had understood his words differently, and his actions did not match his words as he tenderly approached her, asked of her, seduced her in body. She grit her teeth, narrowed her eyes. 

All in the span of seconds she thought. Nothing else made a mate beyond that bond to Saghani, the copulation; nothing else tore it apart but for death. She was a cornered adder snake in her belief, for her own laws and feral faith dictate she do what she must do—fight, fight and win. Saghani had thought she might feel love for him, if such a word existed, as time passed. That was not the point of taking a mate, but the possibility was sweet from heard tellings of it. But as she looked to him, Saghani felt hate, shame, disgust. She resented herself, too, for the choice she had made. He, too, had made his choice and his bed. 

There was, of course, a way to end this swiftly. Mates could be challenged for. And Saghani could let the other win! Emboldened, Saghani prepared to make her sacrifice. Her pride be damned; she felt could not live if the other did not win this match, with the shame of her error. And so with a snarl, she turned and lifted her plume squarely behind her, dipping her muzzle and looking the other in the eye. Come against me, Saghani all but demanded, her weight settled, take this burden from me. It was a lifebond, unless it was stolen, but it could not be turned away from. For better, for worse. She had taken him; he had taken her. But there was a way to change that! And she willed it with burning eyes. 

Never would Saghani make such an error again!

Her expression only continued to storm over – the breaking of the thunder apparent with the flash of lightning in her eyes as she practically glared daggers at Taggarik as he continued to talk.
 
He went off and had a one night stand. And then, she followed him home. And he only thought to question it when they were at the pack borders.
 
She seethed quietly for a few moments, her frosted eyes drifting back to the two, and she felt her own heart throb at the other girl’s expectations of what he had done – she considered them mated because of his foolish actions, and Capri could not blame her – the term ‘casual sex’ was not something she was overly familiar with, either.
 
She only noted then that Farstep was close to her side, and she inhaled sharply, attempting to calm the waves of anger that practically rolled from her. Terich-mir, too, given his voice that echoed across the winter-y landscape.
 
She would have told Tagg to clean up after himself, but it was then that the swarthy stranger turned her attention to Capri, and arching her brows higher, she regarded the audacity the woman had to challenge her. Not wishing to leave the scenario with the possibility of Taggarik accepting the she-wolf, and her believing Capri had relented, she remained firm, her own form lifting and her fangs flashing in a warning to their visitor. “Leave. Now. It’s been made very apparent you are not welcome here.”
 
And if the girl continued to try – well, Capri would rise to her challenge.. except the difference was that the silver-tipped woman had a pack to rely upon no matter the damages done – where areas this wolf was no more than a loner expending her energy. Taking a step forward, her body stiff, the regal made to instill her movement as a final warning.

He didn't understand the happenings. Not really. He took offense to Saghani's posture, which asserted her above the wolves of the pack, but he didn't understand her connection with Taggarik, nor why the Alpha pair was not harassing her for her boldness. The words and, yes, the nature of the meeting itself, were lost to him.

Not lost to him was Terich-mir's bark from the distance. He flicked an ear, turned his head to eye the current Beta male through a lidded eye, and snorted lightly. The dark-haired man didn't seem interested in drawing nearer and asserting his position by standing abreast of his fellow leaders, leaving Farstep to unabashedly assume the role here. His attention went back to Saghani with little more than that, to find the audacious black female rising in a challenge.

His lips peeled back over his teeth and he snarled dangerously. Capriccio was not alone in her desire to remain the Alpha female of the pack; Farstep supported her completely until such a time as another female proved themselves more worthy of it. Currently, there were none within the pack who could stand against the silver-and-black leading female, and Saghani had another thing coming entirely if she believed that she, as an outsider, was entitled to the position.

Capriccio stepped forward dangerously and Farstep shadowed her, his face twisted into an ugly warning grimace.

Sorry for the wait, guys. :( And this is a quickie (heh) because I am having to borrow a laptop.

It was miscommunication on the grandest scale. The black wolf felt a twinge in his heart; it was not his nature to lead another wolf on in such a fashion, or to cause them such undeserved humiliation. If he could have his time back never would he have courted her for a moment's pleasure; but nothing could be done about that now. He had to look to the future.

As she turned her blazing focus to his alpha female, he bristled in full. He was drawn to his utmost height, his teeth bared and his ears pitched forward. He took several stiff steps to position himself between her and Capriccio, and made it clear with a quick snap of his jaws toward her muzzle that she was not permitted to challenge his alpha female. His eyes were sharp focus and intent.

He did not doubt Capriccio; she was prepared to take on the scorned woman, but this was Taggarik's mess, and he did not want her to risk injury because of his stupidity.

"Go," he growled, and he hoped she would, so that he would not be forced to draw blood.

Terich heard the words that passed between the wolves and understood their meaning. Taggarik had, it seemed, dallied, and now the woman he had bedded thought herself the new alpha female. His fur bristled at the thought, not only for Tagg's sake, but for Capriccio's. The words had not been spoken aloud, but they need not be; she felt at home on top, and did not want to submit to any woman save the one Taggarik chose for himself. And this, however unfortunate, was not the way she had envisioned it going.

He didn't move to intervene, however; he remained a few yards away and simply observed. This was not his fight. As far as Terich was concerned, Taggarik could clean up his own mess and leave Capri and the others out of it. Whatever he had thought would come of his one night of passion had backfired, and the shame of this would not leave his memory any time soon.

The words did not cut the unemotional Saghani, who was only hurt by her own stupidity and her own desires. Well, what was done was done. And there was only one thing to change this. The black she wolf was a strong woman who would stand by what she had done. You must take him from me, Saghani responded, Words are nothing. We have claimed one another. They had done it again and again, solidifying the bond. Saghani grit her teeth as others stepped in the way, snorting disdainfully at them. Men. Far simpler than she thought. This was not their battle. Hell, it was not even Taggarik's any longer. He had already acted. He had lay with her, and in their scent, there was no denying it. 

And it would be her that looked the fool for it, for his decision. Her whose name would be besmirched by his misdeed, by his indiscretion. He who would be forgiven at the end, while she walked away with her tail between her legs, surely beaten. This was no battle she wanted to win, however. Every second near him made her resentment grow. She stepped aside as Taggarik bid her to go. 

I must do this, she growled to him, Do you think I seek her blood in this? Rank challenges were never bloody things. I do not. Only the end of this, which she could not admit aloud. There was a part of her that truly wished to fight. Wished to be by his side to give him hell for the rest of his days. But she thought of another that she had run from... and felt that she should not live her life in bitterness. 

Saghani looked to Capriccio again. There was no decision to make. If others fought Capriccio's battle, it would change nothing. Saghani wanted to appeal to the other, woman to woman, but more than that she wanted to wash her hands of this, of him. This was the way she had been taught, this was the way all knew.

Miffed did not even begin to explain the silver-tipped Roux-Abrhen. Farstep made to shadow her, his disapproval written upon his features, and the disdain within his eyes – one did not need words to communicate such emotion. Even Taggarik stepped in front of the stranger, shielding Capri from the woman and blocking her from view temporarily. Her own hackles bristled – her fury vibrated through her very being, and had she been less infuriated, she might have found the ebony male almost endearing in the way he made to protect her.
 
His new, lunatic girlfriend was far too instilled in her nature to accept words as a breakup – no, for some reason, Capri needed to take him from her, and the she-wolf withheld a snort, biting back the reply that she would not be fighting for him but for her pack mates. Taggarik had clearly made his choice – albeit the blood had not been in his brain at the time.
 
She felt a bitter pity for the woman, who despite everything, could not grasp what they were saying. And while Capri was no puppet, she had also tired quite quickly of the conversation. Sweeping forward swiftly now, her form lifted to her full height, her movements were powerful as she side-stepped Taggarik, her form at the cusp of threatening Saghani’s own space within only moments.
 
Her tail remained arced, but her muzzle tucked slightly to protect her nape, her ears thrust forward, and her lips pulled back – writhing as a snarl escaped her. Her tongue slid out, venom-like, and jerking forward with a snap, she did not aim to grab flesh but to threaten – her patience had far worn thin, and if this intruder needed her tail yanked from her ass to make a point, she was not necessarily above doing so.

Just getting a response up to this to finish it off, since things seem to be moving and I don't want Sag to become stagnant!

 

She was thoughtful a little while longer, as things transpired, as she thought on the actions and reactions of others. And she wondered and thought of things, like loopholes, and the clever woman decided her course. Saghani felt inspired by the woman who shouldered past Taggarik, and no hatred was fostered for this one, and this one alone, in all this. Truth be told, if Saghani had any doubts in this woman she would have sought to usurp her regardless of the others attempt to denounce the claim. They, the men, had no bite in this battle between two women. And their barks and growls did nothing to change her mind; it was only Capriccio, and her confidence, and her ability to decide things for herself that changed things. 

So as the other woman postured, Saghani relented. The challenge, the response, was enough for the woman who did not want for him any longer. He is yours, Saghani conceded, squatting some and averting her eyes at last; finally, in an ultimate show of her submission, she turned to run off, though her tail was not tucked beneath her belly in the process of it. Neither did it wave high in the air foolishly behind her; she was no pretender, and as of yet, she was queen of nothing. She had lost, here, but with that loss came a victory, and from this victory would come something greater than could be achieved at this place, and Saghani knew it, felt it in her very bones.

He did not understand her; her ways were beyond him and he could not fathom her need to have this challenge, to have Capriccio 'take him back'. Taggarik belonged to no one. To him she was, in a word, crazy. Snarling, he was about to run her off by force, but Capriccio swept past him and met the woman's challenge. He dare not stoke the fire of her ire by denying her this choice, and before he knew it, the black female was surrendering, and she turned to leave.

That was it?

Once more he found himself disoriented by the strangeness of the situation. His muscles were still tensed, and his tail twitched with agitation as he stared after the retreating figure.

Unwitting of Saghani's dismissal of him and Taggarik—an affront that would've seen the woman's ass kicked to the moon and back if either male was aware of it—Farstep made no move. He continued to snarl a high-pitched threat, but Capriccio was the one who swept forward, and it was to Capriccio that the foolish outsider finally deferred. But it was much too late for her. If Saghani had hoped to find entry into this pack, her behaviour had put her so far down on their mental shitlist that she was lucky to be leaving it alive at all.

Saghani turned to leave, and Farstep, as self-proclaimed guardian of the borders, surged after her for several yards, aiming sharp nips at her hindquarters to speed her flight and ensure she never forgot the sting of Porcupine Ridge. He stopped, still well within sight of the borders, and snorted after her retreating form before returning to his pack mates and eventually breaking away to patrol the borders.

Last post for me.

Terich was still to far away to hear the words that were spoken between the wolves, but from Capri's posture and the way she shoved past Taggarik, she was ready to kill the other to defend her place among the pack. Terich's heart swelled with pride as she moved, at the way her body prickled against the other's words and posture, and the way the dark female finally tucked tail and ran from the ridge wolves. Terich was proud of his best friend for standing up for herself, even if he wasn't entirely sure why she had to do so in the first place. He'd have to find her later, but for now he needed to finish his patrol of the border.

With a nod toward Farstep and Taggarik, he crossed their paths in the opposite direction, and continued on.

The entire situation had aggravated her to a point of confusion. The stranger relented instantly, claiming Taggarik as ‘hers’, and she had to refrain a spitting reply that the man was not something to be owned. Her own pride had been affronted, and her own heart chewed upon. The stranger turned tail, and Capri had half a mind to give chase after her – to take the tail that was not tucked beneath her hindquarters as it should have been and indeed give it a tug of reminder.
 
Yet the she-wolf remained where she was, knowing that the true insult was within the stranger’s heart and what Taggarik had done to her. How he had used her, and how he had not met her expectations. Farstep bolted after her, and Terich-mir turned away.
 
Capri was not yet done – her muscles remained coiled with tension, and turning, her snarl was unleashed upon Taggarik now, her teeth flashing as she made to snap at him and his foolishness. She did not strike to meet flesh but to reiterate just how pissed off she was, and with a low growl, the Roux-Abrhen slunk away from the Alpha male, her posture stiff, her hackles bristled and her unwavering trust in him from before now dissolved.

Farstep spurred the black female's retreat; Terich walked away; and Capriccio aimed her frustration, her ire, her broken trust and all that was negative upon him. His ears kissed his skull as she snarled at him, and his muzzle flinched away as she snapped at him. He did not so much as curl a lip above a fang, nor twitch his tail, growl or bristle in response. He accepted her reprimand willingly. He had made the ground rough beneath his paws, and he would stand on it, even if he was not fully aware of exactly what had spurned the Alpha female. In time, he would know.

For now, he let her leave, and then left on his own in the opposite direction.