Two Rivers Isle Fairly Local

@Shink

It was early morning, and Burke was usually one that was up early. He was right back to the same routine he had at Black Feather. When he woke up at dawn he would instantly go around the territory to patrol and mark the borders. It kept the male in shape too, he hadn't done much while they were traveling, so the older guy was keen on getting back into shape.

He howled for Shink, knowing he promised to take him on a border patrol. The male had shown interesting mercenary, but wasn't entirely sure last time. Burke wouldn't mind if he stayed undecided till he found a trade he really liked doing. After all, with the right motivation one could become a scholar and be in the inner circle of the lord and lady. He hoped to fill those spots, knowing that Aeronwyn was on her way to becoming a scholar.

Shink awoke to the sound of a summoning howl piercing the canopy and filtering down through the mossy entangles of his hollow. With pricked ears, he parted his maw in a large yawn, his jaw closing with a slight click as he crawled out of the dip, his honeyed eyes blinking furiously as the last traces of sleep were banished from his form. He recognised the call of Burke and raised his muzzle to the heavens to release his own wavering cry; a signal to his Lord that he'd be there soon.

With a swish of his tassel, he swung himself into a slow trot, his nose to the ground as he breathed in the musty scent of leaf litter. Satisfied that the only canid scent around his nest was his own, along with the stale traces of Burke, he morphed into a steady lope towards the source of the sound, slowing his strides to a walk as he neared the grayscale leader. "Greetings, Burke," he voiced, his body held in a low posture as he offered him a friendly sweep of his tail. His thoughts travelled back to their first conversation and the Lords promise to take him to scour the borders and his ears flicked in interest, wandering if this what what he had been summoned here for.

Burke gave the male a respectful nod when he came into his vision. The male was pleased to so the subordinate even though it was the crack of dawn. Yet, Burke liked it this way. He could then have a nap in the afternoon, especially in summer this was the hottest time of the day, so he rather be in his den sleeping of the heat.

Burke came from the north, and his coat was even thick in winter, something he would never be able to get rid of. "Morning, Shink," he greeted. With that he started to trot towards the sound of the river. "Today I'd like to so some marking on the other side of the river, so loners know that if they cross the river they are in big trouble," he explained to the other. After all Burke saw the river as their border so once they would be on the other side it would be too late.

"Have you ever marked borders before?," he asked.

With the first rays of dawn sunlight beginning to emerge above the horizon, the agouti boy scanned his gaze over the area, relishing in the cool morning air before returning his focus to the Lord. They were lucky to have a variation of terrains here on the Isle; the grassy expanse of the flower fields proving to be a great spot for morning hunting, the woods on the far side providing shade once the heat of the day rose to an uncomfortable temperature. 

Listening intently to the brutes words, he dipped his head in understanding, his tail curling in excitement as the task became apparent. "Once or twice," he replied in response to his question, "Nothing serious. More to announce my presence here than to warn loners to keep at bay," he finished with a tilt of his head, glad to be able to aid his superiors in securing their claim over the Isle. "Have many wolves ventured over our borders yet?" he queried, swinging himself into a slow trot as he headed towards the rushing sound of the river, his cranium twisted to look over his shoulder at Burke, his eyes glinting with curiosity.

Burke moved through the river, finding it rather refreshing that to wade through it. Burke listened to Shink and what he had to say about marking. He nodded. "Well it is basically the same as that type of marking only now we do it excessively," he explained with a bit of a grin. Because well, it meant a lot of peeing and rubbing against trees.

"They have not. At least not that I know of, not after we settled. I think one was in the river, but that was it, hence why I want to mark across from the river too," he explained. He didn't want any confusion going on. The river was theirs too, it was good for fishing. Especially when the deer were lacking on their island they could survive on fish and other types of water animals like fowl or water mammals.

Burke stepped out from the water and shook out his fur before picking the first tree and making his mark there, then to walk onto the next and rub his shoulder against it. Perfect. Now it were just warning signals that someone was coming close to a territory.

With his usual haphazard strokes, Shink followed Burke's lead as they crossed the river, emerging on the other side with a small smile as his ears pricked to listen to his Lords reply. "Sounds good," he spoke, his tassel lashing with excitement as he shook his pelt to rid himself of the majority of the liquid. "So the more we mark, the stronger Arthendal seems to be," he added, more of a confirmation to himself than a question for his companion.

Trotting over to a sizeable clump of bushes, he cocked his leg and placed his mark amongst the leaves, one ear turned back as he listened to Burke's explanation. With a slight dip of his cranium, he moved on to a young sapling, copying the grayscale leaders movement as he brushed his flank against its smooth bark. "With any luck, they'll stay away from now on," he spoke, curling his tail as he placed his scent upon another tree. "But what if a wolf wants to join? Surely they'd count as trespassers if they approach our borders." Seeing as he had been accepted at the edge of the forest and not near the Isle, he deemed it a pretty valid question, his head tilting in curiosity as he continued to strengthen his odour upon various other trees along the bank.

Burke nodded in confirmation if the other needed one. Burke quirked up his lips because it would make their claim stronger. They would know there was a pack settled here and would watch out. Burke moved a few paces further, after all this was not a border line they were marking they were more putting up warning signals around the border. These would be the first marks loners would encounter.

Burke turned a bit to the other. "Ah. Well normally they howl for the leaders, and stay around the border waiting for me to approve them," he explained. "So they wouldn't be trespassing seeing they howl for my presence and wait by the border. A trespasser stays quiet and knows it is trespassing seeing it crossed the border without letting us know, hence why trespassing is quite the offense," he explained to Shink. It was rather disrespectful.

Crisscrossing between the multitude of trees that had set root in the soft soil of the bank, Shink rubbed his scent against many of them as he trotted down towards the river, his tail twitching as he achnowledged Burke's response. He was grateful that his Lord had cleared his query, for now he was confident he could distinguish a potential trespasser should he come across one.

He reached the gentle flow, it's quiet waves lapping rhythmically at his paws as he bendpt his cranium to quench his thirst, rising up again to pad over to a young pine, rising up on his hind legs as he kneaded his forepaws into its bark to spread his odour. "That makes sense," he replied, twitching his tassel in thought. "I've never approached a wolf at a border before," he spoke as he stepped down from the tree. "Does it count towards the mercinary trade?" he questioned, knowing he was close to gaining that title.

Burke continued to walk, almost at the northern part of the territory where the river split and become the west river. Burke lifted his paw against a bigger boulder and then then turned to Shink to answer his question. "Very essential to know, we wouldn't want to scare off new recruits do we?," he returned with a bit of a smirk.

"It does, so you are one step closer to your Mercenary Trade, then patrolling the borders counts towards specialty Guardian," he spoke. Burke trotted further scratching his claw marks over some bark of a thicker tree. Burke also kept his pale eyes out for anything unusual.

He followed his Lords trail, trotting at an even pace and pausing every now and again to strengthen Burke's mark upon his chosen posts. With ears pricked and tassel waving high, he listened as the brute chose to answer his enquiery, his muzzle crinkling into what could only be described as a wolfish grin as the other spoke. He'd take his advice, being careful to approach any newcomer at the borders with an open mind before judging them as an offender. Arthendal was small and was always open for those who wanted to excel at knowledge of their interest, yet it wouldn't hurt to be careful.

A sense of pride flowed through his veins as the grayscale male confirmed that indeed it did count towards his trade. Perhaps he could work hard and become a guardian like Burke had said. With a light sniff of a luscious branch, he placed his mark before turning back to wards his superior. "I'd love to become a Guardian," he spoke, his tail lashing in excitement.

Burk nodded at Shink, it was a good thing that he wanted to be a guardian. Though, he knew that Aeronwyn and Issun also had their mercenary trades. Aeronwyn was also going after her mastery of Guardian. However Burke didn't want to discourage him at all

The male marked another tree. "That is good. Though the position for Warlord, which is one of the scholars has been taken by Aeronwyn," he told him. The male wanted him to know that at least, if he didn't know so already. After all the scholars were the most trusted. "Though we are happy for you to be a guardian, because we like our lands well protected," he assured the other.

At the mention of the pale wraith's success in earning the rank of Warlord, an immediate sense of admiration crossed the boys expression as he padded onwards, lifting his leg as he spread his odour across a fallen branch to the side of their path. Aeronwyn certainly deserved the title; the way she had sparred with him and passed her techniques onto his inexperienced self had impressed the young boy and she had the scars to prove her worth. Yet he couldn't shake off the nagging jealousy that was beginning to gnaw at his belly. Already one of his fellows had worked their way into the scholars tier and he was stuck at the bottom with not even a trade to speak of. With a dismissive flick of his tail, he decided not to voice his opinion, instead chuffing a quiet "congratulations to her" as his pawsteps followed his Lord further along the northern border.

Within a few moments he had regained his usual energy, his gait a confident lope as he placed his scent upon numerous posts alongside the rushing torrents of the river. Although the white furred canid had been promoted, he deemed it as something to work towards and with the completion of his and Burke's patrol, he'd hopefully be able to earn his first trade. Realising he hadn't spoken for a long while, he barked a short sentence: "I'd be glad to add to the number of mercinaries we have,"he spoke, his ears twitching as he listened to the rushing water, "It'd be an honour to protect our land and to see the young ones grow up."

Burke could only agree with Shink with a nod. He wondered if Shink had ambition to become a scholar. He wasn't sure.  "That is always needed. We could use the protection," he admitted and nodded shortly. "You can still become a scholar with another trade,' he offered, testing if the male had ambition for that.

"They will grow up well thanks to your protection Shink. This border marking is important to claim the pack's territory," he hummed. Burke was always liking patrolling because of that. It made him feel important and it would be his mark that would stop others from entering. Burke continued marking with his pack mate until they covered most of the border.

-end-