Twelve billion light years from the edge

It was a pleasant and warm mid-afternoon. Pump, who had assisted Ragnar on border patrols and given her share of the effort in refilling the caches, had decided to have a rest. The hight temperature, sunlight and her dark, thick and fluffy coat didn't mix well together. She got hot and tired easily, therefore she had changed her daily schedule, operating mainly in the mornings and evenings, when it was cooler.

She had also found a better resting spot - some distance away from the denning area, near the small lake, which was located not far from the western borders. It was weedy, but not enough to deem the water unaccessable. Pump leaned down to have a drink and eventually decided to climb in the water to cool off a little. She didn't go very far, only so that the water reached her belly. There she remained standing, enjoying the cold water and listening to the forest sounds around her.

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Julooke had been out and about that morning, as well, doing her pack duties, as usual. She was diligent in them, not wanting anything to have any doubts about her ability to help sustain the pack, or better yet, help it grow. She was so happy to have a place to call home, with Verrine, that she would have done almost anything to make sure they knew her dedication. Plus, with all her energy, it had to go somewhere.

She and the lake hadn't met yet. She stumbled upon it in her effort to memorize the layout of the territory. There was only one thing to do now that she had found it. With a running start, she used her long legs to leap into the water, splashing water all around. She had no idea of her Alpha who stood not very far away.


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Ragnar had told Pump about accepting two young wolves - a male and the female - in the pack and, even though she hadn't spoken to them in person, she had observed them from afar, when the opportunity inbetween her busy schedule had allowed to do that. The girl seemed more open and active, but her companion not that much.

Her moment of still and quiet was disturbed by pounding footsteps and loud splash, when someone jumped in the water. Pump squinted her eyes, when some of the water droplets hit her muzzle and in th eyes, therefore she shook her coat and blinked few times, before trying to locate, who was to blame for that. As it turned out it was one of the newcomers. "Cooling off?" she adressed the white she-wolf.

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The voice cause her head to whip around in search of the wolf it was coming from, her body following. She hadn't realized anyone else was there, but, then again, she hadn't exactly checked to make sure. She swam over, getting close enough to shore that her paws touched the muddy bottom and she could stand. I am so sorry! I should have looked to make sure no one was around before I jumped in, she admitted honestly. Water dripped from her head, but she didn't bother to shake it off. That would have been rude.

Tail wagging in hopes of making this meeting a good one, she introduced herself, I'm Julooke. My friend, Verrine, and I were just accepted into the pack. She paused to see if the other female would offer her own name. She had no idea the female standing in front of her was the Alpha.

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Pump wasn't a person, who held a grudge for too long, unless it was a very serious matter. Getting wet wasn't one of them, but she accepted Julooke's apology with a light nod and then took some steps back in order to let the girl get rid of the excess water in her coat.

"Julooke," she repeated, memorizing the odd name (but after meeting a lot of wolves with names that sounded strange, she didn't even care to feel surprised or curious), and then added, "that much I knew." Thus pointing out the pack, that even though she wasn't always present, when joining took place, she knew all about it.

"Pump," she introduced herself. "How is your friend doing?"

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The other female seemed to accept her apology easily, and even stepped back to allow the soaking she-wolf to shake off the excess water, which she did. She smiled gratefully. The dark stranger seemed to know the happenings in the pack, and that Julooke had been accepted with Verrine. She introduced herself as Pump. Julooke smiled, repeating the name for memorizing purposes. Pump. A flashback of her acceptance into the pack went through her head, and her golden eyes widened, her smile disappearing. Pump! she exclaimed. The Alpha!

Her tail immediately dropped and her ears flattened on her head. She felt like a fool. I'm so sorry, I meant no disrespect. I should have known who you were, of course! She said, beginning to babble. I'm usually much better, I swear! Her eyes pleaded for forgiveness.

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The moment Julooke realized, who Pump was, she got all jittery and babbled a great deal of how sorry she was for whatever she had done. The wolf-dog listened to her patiently, though she didn't consider that being splashed with water was such a crime that needed this amount of fuss. Frankly speaking - she had forgotten about it, when the moment had passed. She liked to be respected, but the way the girl showed it, was a bit too overdone.

When the girl had finished talking, she lifted an eyebrow, as if asking - Are you done? - in case there was another way she could show, how sorry she was. Nothing followed immediately, therefore she let a small smile appear on her lips. "All is well," she assured, thus telling that there was no need to apologize. "You didn't reply to my question," Pump reminded.

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This wasn't going well at all. Julooke was clearly bordering on irritating her Alpha. She took a short moment and mentally shook herself. Pump seemed nice enough, and didn't seem irritated at all before she started babbling. She had to get a hold of herself.

She would not apologize again. She would simply answer the question. He seems to be doing good. He's been busy working on his trades, and settling in. I wonder if he might want to be an outrider, since he's been going around, meeting other packs. It was a conscious effort to keep her tone light and conversational, but she could already feel herself relaxing.

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An outrider? A while ago Pump wouldn't have considered this kind of position useful. Why would a pack need a wolf, who spent most of the time outside the territories, when there was so much to do within. Meals didn't serve themselves after all, enemies could attack any moment and the list could go on. However, there were news that there was a movement of foreign wolves nearby and it appeared that they were going to settle somewhere. This meant that Horizon ridge wolves wouldn't be the only dwellers of the Sequoia coast and, while Pump wasn't very keen on having neighbours, it would be quite useful to send someone else to find out, who they were, and deal with them.

"That's good," Pump replied - she liked that people didn't need to be told that they had to work, in order to stay here. "What about you? Found any spot you can fill in?" she asked tilting her head to the side and examining the girl from head to toes. Julooke seemed like a fit and healthy wolf and the intellect was a definite plus.

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Julooke had been born into a pack that respected the need for allies, and therefore wolves to speak kindly of them on their behalf. She understood having friends in bad times was essential, and that they could be helpful. However, she also understood that some leaders did not see it like that. Allies could turn on them in a moment, and could gain access to the packlands easily before the leaders knew what was happening. They could be helpful, or harmful.

Julooke nodded, smiling. I'm a pretty good hunter, she replied, not boasting about her abilities. I understand Thistle is due to give birth any day now, and I'm an experienced caretaker. I hope to help them with the pups, she said. She would need to ask Ragnar about it, knowing he would be the most protective over them, if not Thistle herself. And I'm also interested in learning more about herbs, and becoming a healer, though I have very little experience right now, she added. Julooke definitely had ambition. She just needed to go for them now.

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When Pump had accepted Aine in the pack, the she-wolf had boasted of many great qualities, but during her time her hadn't proved any. At least not of what the wolf-dog would have any knowledge about. Therefore she was a little skeptical, when Julooke listed all of the fields she was either interested in or was good at. The only difference, however, was that she seemed sincerely interested and motivated to learn everything that was needed to be excellent.

"Thistle will need an assistant, because cubs will take a lot of her time," she commented, recalling that their current healer had expressed a wish to have someone take over, while she could not. "I will need all good hunters we have soon - we will have a deer hunt," Pump explained and the way she said it, implied that she expected to see Julooke in the hunting party. "Where do you come from, Julooke?"

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Julooke was not a fluff wolf, meaning she didn't say all these things to make herself look better now, only in the end to drop the ball. She had every intention, and all the determination, to follow her goals. Every wolf had faults, and maybe she would fail at some of them, but it would not be for lack of trying. She nodded when Pump mentioned Thistle and her cubs, I was hoping I might steal a little of her time before the cubs are born and let her know my interest in becoming a healer. I'll help her in whatever way I can, she assured her Alpha. Even if Julooke wouldn't be able to work on wolves herself, she could be the runner for Thistle- stocking up her healing caches, and whatever else she might need.

Julooke smiled at the mention of a pack hunt. Count me in! It would be the perfect opportunity for Julooke to show Pump some of her already acquired skills. When asked about her home, Julooke responded, A pack called Sterrenvuur, in Salvaje Valley. My parents led until their death, then my older sister took over.

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A very complicated name for a place to be born, therefore Pump didn't even try to memorize it. Her birth pack didn't have a name - Bilberry hills was just a matter of convenience for Pump's player - and in her opinion it was unneccessary to have one too. She knew, however, that there were people in her pack that took pride in having a name therefore she kept her ideas to herself.

"Keep your word then," Pump said and briefly looked Julooke in the eyes, thus saying that she meant it. She wouldn't follow the young girl around, of course, but the recent disappointment in Diluculo's lack of loyalty had made her a little more distrustful to the newcomers. She would remember to go and ask Thistle herself, if the young wolf had showed up or not.

Suddenly her attention was drawn to the movement in the water. She looked down with her ears perked up and a curious expression on her face. There was a frog swimming towards the bank of the pond. Pump lifted one of her forepaws up, froze and focused her gaze on the amphibian. The next moment she made move - dove with her muzzle in the water, jaws parted and snapped at the creature, which she missed by a "whisker". Pump snorted and shook her head, shot a glance at Julooke and then beckoned her to follow to the bank.

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Julooke gave a firm nod to her leader, silently verbalizing her understanding that she was not to become a liar. Julooke had every intention of being in that hunt, come hell or high water.

Julooke's own body froze when she realized Pump was trying to catch something in the water. Her eyes followed the frog, instinct telling her to grab it, but knowing this was Pump's chase, not hers. Her ears perked just before Pump's jaws went for it, just missing it. Slippery little suckers, she said jokingly, following Pump to shore. Julooke herself did not prefer frogs, finding them a little off-taste for her.

So, she began. Are there any other females in the pack who are pregnant or might have pups this year? So far, she had only heard about Thistle, but she hadn't met any of the other females, besides Pump, at this point.


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ooc: could you fade this out in the next post, please? Thank you a lot for the thread!

"I suppose they are," Pump agreed, even though she wouldn't have used the exact wording. It was hard for her sometimes to understand the odd expressions other wolves here used. Beginning with Ragnar and the odd babbling, which he referred to as being his native language, and to "slippery little suckers" Julooke had used. Of course, people could say and speak, whichever way they liked it, but in her opinion, if one could use simpler ways to tell things, why not stick to them?

The next question caught her off guard and Pump frowned at the thought of it. One illicit litter was enough to deal with, more - would be too much for the wolf-dog to handle. She would simply drive the guilty party out for violating the rules. "Not that I know of," she replied, considering for a brief moment that it was quite possible for Ragnar to cause trouble of such kind, but besides Thistle and her, there weren't many females in the pack, let alone those, who were "desirable".

Only if I have to! It could go on forever if you let it! :-)

[size=medium]Julooke nodded. Not other impending puppies. Oh, well. Julooke would have her paws full with Thistle and Ragnar's, she was sure. Plus, she had hunting and learning herbs and healing to keep her busy.

The conversation had come to a slow halt, and Julooke figured she had kept the Alpha distracted long enough. I think I'm going to go find Verrine and see what he's up to, she said with a smile. See you around, Pump, she added before trotting off. Little did she know, leadership within Horizon Ridge would change unexpectedly, and their beloved leader would be gone forever.
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