Phantom Hollow New wolves

@Malice @Cogitemus

A large, long-furred, tan-orange she wolf was standing beside a river, scanning her surroundings every minute or two with shining lemon-colored eyes. Ebony fur covered her ear tips, mouth, chest, underbelly, and under her tail; also marking three of her legs. The female paced along an invisible line, slightly opening her mouth to scent the border she knew was there. A pack border, not one she knew. 
The female had been raising her daughter alone the past nine months after leaving her old pack, but she was growing lonely. She had her daughter, of course, but she knew that the two of them needed more than each other. Her daughter had rarely been around other wolves, but Ambrosia made sure she was socialized properly. 
Ambrosia was shaken from her thoughts as her daughter stepped up beside her, snapping a twig. It was very, very quiet in this part of the territory, to most it would be weird and unsettling. However, it didnt seem to bother the older of the two she-wolves. Ambrosia felt at home in the dark, cool forest; even liked the soundless forest. It allowed her to hear further, better, to know ahead of time when to expect company. She shared a glance with her daughter before loosing a howl into the echoey, grey forest, calling for an alpha.

The smaller of the two she-wolves, Brandy, stepped up beside her mother as she stopped pacing. Seeing the far-away look in Ambrosia's eyes, the bronze, cream, and rust female stepped on a twig. The small little sound seemed giant in the bleak, silent forest. Her mother startled, looking over at her daughter and meeting eyes. After a moment, the she-wolves wordlessly seemed to agree on something and the older of the two howled for an alpha. As Brandy waited, she looked around the greyness. She was a little anxious at the silence, but she knew she would eventually adapt to it and come to love it.

@Cogitemus , post after meh? :P Also, Raven Marie, there is a post order on this forum. I hope you know what this is and that I don't have to explain it, but if you don't feel free to send me a PM :)

The queen had been wandering on the borders again, thinking about when she would go to their neighboring pack to speak with Burke. She knew she had to do it this week, and that she wanted Sage to accompany her, but there were no details discussed yet. Her lover would stay here, keeping things in order and stuff till the two girls got back with good news or bad news.

Her deep thoughts were interrupted however, a howl now breaking the silence she had been in this whole morning. The silence was peaceful, even in the dark spooky forest they called home. She raised an eyebrow, was this a wolf who wanted to join? If so, their pack would almost be full. With Veritas leaving soon and Sage becoming a beta they had exactly 2 spots open. She wanted the ranks filled with trustworthy, loyal and hard working companions, so whoever was calling better had something to add to their pack.

With a fast trot she arrived, spotting an orange-tan wolf like the color the sky was when she watched the sundown. Moonlit Hills' wolves were mostly all dark furred, so this... woman (She scented) would stand out like a soar thumb. They only had 1 other light-pelted wolf in their ranks, which was already odd. Soon, she spotted a younger wolf, probably next to her mother. The queen raised an eyebrow to them, unsure what the kid was doing here. Pups belonged in the pack where they were born, right?

She stepped closer to the two, now standing right on the invisible line. Her tail was raised, indicating that she was one of the leaders of this pack and almost demanded some submission of the two. Hello. Please state your name and the reason you called out for me. She said, a small side smile making it's way onto her muzzle.

The man came late, as he was working on another side of the borders. As three figure came upon view, he quickened up. Malice was obvious around the lighter pelts. He looked over them quickly. "Greetings, why have you summoned us?" he said. His body stood tall, and his tail followed standing to a point. The light color of these wolves... Wolf and pup? What was a pup doing here? Hopefully these loners had a good explanation, and they both needed to know that the younger of the two would instantly be placed in the youth tier. He glanced over the larger wolf, checking her health and physique. He turned his gaze to the small one, and checked her too. They both seemed to be in relatively good health, for loners anyway.

Ambrosia heard the alpha approaching, stepping a bit closer to her daughter before the alpha came into view. She watched the she-wolf look her and her daughter over, doing the same back. When she saw the strangers eyes linger on her daughter and raise her eyebrow, Ambrosia readied herself to be defensive; but in the next moment she saw this new wolf smile and relaxed. So far, she didnt seem like a threat and Ambrosia wasnt going to be either. She smiled back and responded kindly to the alpha. "My name is Ambrosia and this is my daughter, Brandy. We've come in search of a new pack; we can both pull our weight and protect the pack in return for shelter, hunting, and acceptance." She chose to leave out why they were looking, seeing it as unimportant. She wasnt kicked out of her pack, she left of her own accord; they had nothing to fear from the protector or her daughter, so long as the two were not separated.

Brandy heard the alpha coming too, her hearing confirmed when her mother stepped a bit closer. Anxiety spiked through the young wolfs pelt, but when she saw her mother relaxed she pushed it off. If her mother felt safe, she knew she was too. She watched the stranger approach, looking them both over made Brandy unsettled. However, like her mother, she spotted the small smile and her muscles unbunched. She decided to keep her mouth shut and let her mother do the talking, as she'd learned was the best way to get through any situation. She stuck close to her mother as the second alpha showed up, listening to Ambrosia's words.

The queen's ears perked again at the sound of her lover's footsteps nearing. She turned her head around to face him for a bit, nuzzling in the fur of his neck as a greeting. His words indicated that he was just as curious as her. What was a pup doing here? Had there been a war? Was her former pack involved... Avalon?

Her smile disappeared when the pair didn't show signs of wanting to submit to the Alpha pair. Yes, her words had been kind enough and she saw the pup as anything but a threat, but still. She had even gotten some submission out of Veritas, the bold woman who would bow to no-one. She raised her tail even higher than before, even raising her hackles a bit in the process to look bigger. Ambrosia and Brandy, truly foreign names on the queen's tongue. It confirmed her thoughts on the older one being the mother though. The next words made her chuckle. A pup protecting their pack against possible enemies like the Dark Brotherhood? Why not present the little thing as a meal to their neighbors, that would be a lot quicker. 

We have many capable fighters, myself included. Our pack is well defended, a piece of tail from a trespasser is the prove of that. She said, remembering how the young fighter, the poison master and the queen had chased away the foolish trespasser. Blood spilled that day, but unfortunately the trespasser was too quick for them to kill.

Do you and your furball have any trades you would like to acquire? She asked, chuckling when she said the word furball. She had been meaning to use that word for a while now.

The man purred shortly and his neck was nuzzled. He too, didn't like the lack of submission the two kept hidden. "First things first, your need to learn some manners, like now. You will be the lowest ranking in this pack, and I wouldn't trust that you would be a but scruffed up by our loyal high ranking members. Next, as Malice already mentioned, I am happy you posses these skills, and they are extremely important, but is there anything else you can provide Moonlit Hills?" he spoke. 

He cast his gaze down to the little one. "Do you have any interests in anything? Think of absolutely anything." he said, trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. He chuckled at Malice, and licked her cheek. Cogitemus moved his gaze back to the loners.

Ambrosia's muscles tensed at the she-wolfs harsh words, and her tan-orange fur bristled in alarm; her ears pinned but she made sure not to show her teeth or look aggressive. She'd hoped that, by being friendly, she and her daughter might not have to deal with aggression and dominance. She knew that these two were, obviously, in charge, and had no wish to change that. She lowered her tail, but didnt tuck it, and made sure her head was level with her shoulders. She silently prayed that her daughter kept her mouth shut, there wasnt a thing she could do against two alphas if the younger wolf spoke out of turn. "I'm good with defense fighting, over other things. I'm a mother, I could take care of pups that need a mother, or just for mothers that need to leave camp." Ambrosia tried not to make direct eye contact, averting her lemon eyes to the ground. Every bone in her body burned at the effort of submitting, however slight, but she knew they needed to join a pack. She hoped they werent getting into a bad pack....

Brandy watched her mother, fear and anger wrestling behind her lemon eyes. She growled low, but soon thought better of it and snapped her mouth shut. The young she- wolf crouched low, curling her tail close to her body and lowering her ears. Her eyes were more angry, but obviously she was smart enough to know what would happen if she stood up to these strange alphas. She didnt like the way they talked to her and her mother, but she didnt dare say so to Ambrosia in front of them. If they did get into the camp, she would talk to her mother then. Brandys long bronze and cream fur hid her deep rusty legs for the most part, only her dark paws showing.  "I'm more of an attacker than a defender, but I'll go wherever I'm told to go and do as well as I can." She seemed to think for a moment before adding,  "I can hunt pretty well too, especially birds or fish."

The mother's words were not interesting, really. As she had mentioned before, they had enough fighters, both on defense and offense. They had no pups in their pack either, though the alpha pair was sure they wanted them one day. That day was far away however, and to let this pair of wolves in for such a long time without them doing anything that would help would be foolish. Plus, if they had little furballs running around one day, Malice and Cogitemus were capable of caring for their own young'uns. Anyone in the pack could also help, perhaps the silver girl was good with kids, who knows. We have no needs for defenders, nor a sitter. We do not have pups in our pack... Yet. She said, adding the last word with a side eye to Cog.

The change of body language was a good sign, not perfect, but a good second start. The queen lowered her hackles, just to have them jump back up again at the sound of a teeny tiny growl. Her eyes scanned the young'un who had made the sound that was now cowering in fear and gave a devious grin. A fighter? A ma hoola with that. She stepped with her two front legs over the invisible line, lowering her muzzle to face the pup. She knew this would probably upset the mother, but she didn't want to hurt the furball or anything. She merely wanted to scare the little thing to make it clear that this was not the way to go if they wanted to join a pack. What was that, Brandy? She spoke with a wicked voice, almost failing to keep her laughter in.

She returned to her normal position again once the little thing was probably scared and moved on with their conversation. The little thing knowing how to hunt was an achievement for someone her age, but every wolf that wasn't disabled knew how to catch something. She didn't respond however, as it wasn't really an answer to her question but Cog's one.

The man gave a chuff to Malice. "Alright, a hunter could be useful, but as we said, we have enough defence, and offence. You can't just have one skill, because your work will most likely be taken up by the others, leaving you to only eat our food, possibly that your daughter would work to catch. Do you have any other interests? Spy work, healer?" He said. The man ignored the growl from the pup. The pup meant no harm to him, as she was untrained.

He was getting fairl tired of the mother speaking only the same thing over and over again, but, they would be nice to welcome in.

Memories flashed before Ambrosia's eyes and, on instinct, she shot herself between Malice and Brandy, fur spiked out in fear but hovering over her daughter. Her tail stayed low, her head down, but she wasn't about to let her daughter get hurt; alphas or not. She stayed silent, but her eyes were wild with the fire of a mother protecting her baby. The orange-tan she-wolf shook slightly as she listened to the male speak. staying quiet at first. "I could be a spy, I learn quickly. I could heal, if I was taught how to. I can hunt. You show me how to do what you need done. " Ambrosia replied in a polite, but quiet voice. She was still unsure about this pack, but she knew this could eventually all be forgotten.

Brandy lowered herself and stayed silent, fixing her furious eyes to the ground as to keep her mouth shut. The fiery young she-wolf was fighting to stay submissive, but her anger was replaced with surprise as her mother was suddenly right above her, pressing her down further and shielding her. She noticed her mother staying low, still trying to be submissive in any way she could; she knew Ambrosia was struggling to do so just like Brandy. The younger wolf grumbled at her mother, trying to nudge her away, but she was at an awkward angle and just couldnt put strength behind her intentions; she decided to just stay put.

With Cogitemus banned from WolfRPG (Don't know why :/) The post order is now: Ambrosia - Brandy - Malice.

The pack was in no need for untrained spies and healers. They had Renn in training as a spy and currently had a very capable healer. Yes, the healer would move out soon to start a pack on her own, but they were sure to keep in contact. A healer in training was useless as they had no-one to teach. They needed experienced wolves, one who already knows how to heal.

The actions of the mother were understandable as she shot right above her young'un to protect it. The queen hummed softly. It was good to see the mother defending her own flesh and blood as it showed braveness. We have a spy in training already, as well as a very experienced healer and poison master. So with this, what is preventing you from just sitting on your ass doing nothing when we let you in? She asked, her voice as cold as the icy winds up north. She knew how hard life was as a loner, especially one with a young'un to care for, but they couldn't take in just any wanderer.

Veritas, who could sit still for extended periods of time, was bored. A bored Veritas meant the healer suddenly transformed into pranklord extremo, ready and willing to go out of her way to trip someone up. That involved her puttering off to find someone to let off steam and coincidentally, that someone was Malice... and Cogitemus, and some other wolves. But it seemed Cogitemus wasn't exactly present.

She geared up to act and prank until she heard the word 'healer' and all other thoughts promptly flew out of her mind. Now who the heck needed healing, and so serious it needed a full-blown healer to do the job? Veritas peered out from behind a tree, putting her poker face on before trotting out into full view of them all.

I'll be willing to train a healer, just so there aren't any slackers about." Her tone, like the Queen's, was cold and uninviting though it held a twinge of curiosity in it. She tossed a look at Malice, questioning and confused. WHy was she talking to someone (in her humble opinion) completely worthless?

Her words concealed her true thoughts - but oh well, MH needed another medic, anyway. 

I saw healer and couldn't resist. Hope you don't mind!

Ambrosia's pelt spiked out a little bit as she shifted paws, looking around. Were all the wolves in this pack going to be so cold hearted? "We've both told you we'll do whatever you're willing to teach. GIVE us something to do so we don't have time to sit on our asses." She licked down a patch of ebony fur that stuck out from the rest, flicking an ear. She wondered again if this was just stranger aggression, or these were just mean wolves. She'd moved to let Brandy get up, but she'd pushed her daughter further from the border and stood in front of her protectively; still making sure to keep her head and tail low.

Brandy saw another wolf show up and pawed at her mother to let her up as she shifted, and sighed in relief when the tan-orange she wolf actually moved. She scrambled to her paws, backing up easily as her mother pushed her and shook out her pelt. The silence of the woods was finally getting to her, and she struggled to hear anything but the wolves gathered. She hated the bleak greyness off everything, the lack of life. She had to listen to the only sound, the other wolves talking. She fought not to say anything, keeping her head and tail low like her mother. She didnt like this, not at all. She didnt understand the aggression of the strange wolves.

Malice really isn't going to let them in, I'm sorry :( Also, totally don't mind Kiir :P

Malice didn't give their healer a real greeting until Veritas was close enough. Her stare changed from cold to a rather friendly one as she nodded her head to her, but when it focused back on the 2 beings at their borders, it quickly changed back into the freezing yellow one. She saw the fur bristle, every little movement the bigger female made. The queen wasn't evil, angry nor mean, she was simply protecting her pack from any slackers who were worth nothing. The healer's words didn't even reach her thoughts, although it was a good suggestion. She looked over to her though, her questioning look telling enough. The healer wasn't fond of the two either it seemed, and Malice knew how good she was at predicting things. Their healer had had the better ideas of the whole pack, but she also had the most experience in life. Perhaps that was what really counted.

The words of the stranger made a low growl come out of the queen's throat, though it wasn't intentionally. She had no hate toward the one saying it, but the words itself made her mad. One should not be told what to do and just follow, they should have a mind of it's own. That was what the two were lacking, ideas, dreams. Perhaps the younger one hadn't had enough experience yet, though she was sure the older female had had. Did these two really have no plans for the future besides joining a pack?

You are lacking what I desire. She almost growled, and kept a cold tone. That desire is dreams, hopes. You have shown me no interest in anything, something that I despise. Everyone inside these borders has plans for the future, they know who they want to be and what they are. She explained, her hackles only raising accordingly to the dominance she wanted to show.

You and your young will not survive long in the wild, so I advise you to seek a dream and a new home. Perhaps when you have found yourself, you'll be able to join a pack. She said, two front legs going over the invisible line to further drive them away. 

Veritas did not mimic Malice's motions, remaining a neutral stance. That, in the eyes of others, could convey different things. Different people might interpret her behaviour differently - some might see it as a show of disinterest, some might see it as helplessness for a healer who wished only to teach, and some might see it as merely no display of dominance. Veritas was content to let it be as such.

At last, Malice delivered her verdict. This was when the healer carefully plucked a few leaves from a convenient bush next to her - or rather, all around the territory. These were mint leaf, smelling fine and having no real use. They only served to have something to take their minds off the harsh rejection by providing some other flavour. That was fine by the woman - she'd no intention to help them either.

Spinning over the line, Veritas turned back to go re-do her poison, determined to get something done other than harass strangers.

Ambrosia growled, straightening herself out. No need to be submissive to someone she didnt have to please.  "We told you what we were interested in, and you shot them down." Ambrosia's tone went from neutral to aggressive as she lashed her tail, turning and shoving Brandy back the way we came. "I don't think this pack would be good for us anyways, if they're all all cold as you are." Angry, the orange-tan female pushed her daughter again and trotted after her, eventually picking up the pace to bolt out of the grey territory.

Brandy's fur spiked out at the alphas words, but she kept quiet and followed her mothers body language. She was relived when her mother finally righted herself; she didn't like seeing her mother submissive, it wasn't who she was. Ambrosia was a proud, stubborn warrior! The bronze she-wolf pinned her ears at the alphas verdict, but Brandy felt her muscles unwind. Much as she wished they could just find a home, these wolves just didnt seem to like them. She stumbled when her mother shoved her, scrambling back and turning with a huff of annoyance at her mother before trotting off into the woods, eventually racing away at her mothers heels.


(Sorry it didnt work out, I just cant see my sweet girls in such a tough pack xD )