You say you're different I say their all the same

@KodoKuna

Jace stood large and tall and black over top of the goat he had managed to take down. It was an older goat and it had given him hell, but he had chased it and he had caught it and he had given it a merciful and honorable death. Thank you friend. You’ll feed us for little while. He bent his head and began to tear the skin off of it, intent to gift it to someone, he just didn’t know who yet. Blue eyes kept going up to look on the mountain face, though he was home he was uneasy. Fox had just rambled into their borders mere days ago, and he was expecting it again. Only this time he was expecting a wolf that he would have to fight. He bent to his task, and did not look up again.

Large shoulders shifted and moved as he fought to get the hide off of the goat. Black obsidian coat, blended into the shadows and glowed with a glossy sheen when the sun would hit it. He was happy to be doing what needed to be done, and though he was wary, he began to drift off into his own sense of day dreaming.

Kodokuna moved silently through the packs lands, she wanted to familiarize herself with the territory as quickly as possible. She could smell a fresh kill, hoping it was up for scavenging she followed the scent in long strides.

As she came upon the food source she noticed a male wolf, whose black coat would catch the sun every so often giving away his position. Kodo soon tripped over a rather large root sticking up from the ground and landed a few feet away from the male.

" I uhm, hi I'm sorry I didn't mean to intrude." Her speech was soft, her gaze downshift to the dirt, trying to keep from drooling over the fresh food.

A laugh worked its way up from his throat and he chuckled, blood red teeth showing as he looked over at the she wolf. Her coat was different, but it was also very pretty. She was light and dark, sun and moon, it made for a nice change of scenery compared to other’s coats. He quit chuckling and looked her over and gave her a small smile, this must be the KodoKuna Ferdie had told him about, their newest member. They were fast gathering members and it made his day.

Hello I’m the Beta Jace. he saw her trying very hard to ignore the fact that there was fresh kill in front of her. The poor girl was a bit malnourished, probably from running around as a lone wolf for however long she had. He spoke quietly then blue eyes looking at her, almost through her with their intensity. I’ll tell you what if you help me get this hide off of the goat, I’ll let you have as much of this catch as you want, before I put it in our caches. Deal?

"Really?!" Kodokuna jumped up excitedly and wagged her tail. SHe stopped suddenly remembering her place and lowered her tail, which still moved side to side with a mind of its own. She licked her muzzle and looked towards the kill.

" I would be happy to help." She corrected herself and then remembered she hadn't introduced herself. "I am Kodokuna, the Alpha Ferdie has honored me with accepting me into your pack." She continued and looking up at him.

He chuckled again as she jumped to her feet in fervor excitement. He saw her momentarily forget her place, but quickly enough she remembered who he was and who she was, and their hierarchy. He couldn’t blame her for wanting some of the kill, and he especially couldn’t blame her for have excitement for it, lord knows when she actually had a nourishing meal if she was a lone wolf for a long while.

well met KodoKuna. Do you have a nickname? Or do you prefer your whole name? If you start from that side, we’ll meet in the middle and flip this guy over okay. he tilted his head then waiting for answers to his question and for her to start helping him. He realized he had thrown a good bit at her there, but he could wait for her answers he wasn’t in a hurry today.

"I uhm, Kodo is fine.." She muttered and moved to her designated half to help him skin the kill. She realized she hadn't responded to his request verbally and looked down. The kill teased her senses making her slightly dizzy, she hadn't had a chance to eat this well in over a month.

"I start over here?" She clarified even though she already knew the answer, but respecting those above her was her main concern, no need to get kicked out of a pack she had just had the privilege of joining.

Jace nodded his verbal yes when she said he could call her Kudo, he didn't know if he liked that it didn't suit her he didn't know what did, but he'd try out Kudo for size, but he'd probably just turn back to her actual name.

Yes Kudo over there. he watched her for a moment as she started to dig into the kill and he realized she should probably eat first, he didn't want her fainting on him. You know what stop, if you are careful and you tear the hide away, you can eat. You look like you haven't eaten well in days. So go ahead and eat first, we can sit and talk until you're ready to work on it if you want. He looked her over with concern he didn't want her to fall over.

"I don't mean to correct you but uhm... It's Kodo not Kudo" She whispered looking down at the ground. She hoped correcting the male would not get her in trouble.

She hesitated hoping the offer to eat before work was still open, her legs shook slightly and her tail tucked itself tightly between her legs. She feared she had gone too far and overstepped her low rank in the pack. She licked her muzzle and looked at Jace's large paws. She felt foolish for correcting him.

Lol that was actually my grammar mistake, but we'll roll with it :D

He chuckled softly Woops I'm sorry Kodo..then I apologize for that, I'm not very good with this type of thing. I am not usual a social guy, but i'm working on it. Now eat before you faint. It's fine.

He saw her literally shaking and looked down was he really that scary...granted he knew he was large and he wasn't exactly social and he had some pretty impressive body structure, but he wasn't mean was he. He was confused and he felt terrible and he shifted from foot to foot unsure what to do now that he had a scared wolf on his hands. He didn't want to touch her, he was terrible at touching, even the nice kind. He was a bit of a rough guy around the edges and it showed.

I figured but I decided to incorporate it, may as well right ;)

Kodokuna gave a small smile before gently pulling hide away from the muscular leg of the animal, her favorite. She dug into the prey with a low growl of happiness, blood soon stained the white half of her muzzle and trickled down onto her neck. She looked up for a few seconds at Jace, refraining from eye contact.

"Thank you." She said smiling and ate for a short time more before stepping back leaving a neatly cleaned bone and unharmed hide. She kept her distance, she wasn't afraid of him per say, rather afraid of everyone and everything.

Jace sat to his haunches nearby while she ate, making sure to stay away and stay quiet. It wasn’t that he was afraid to talk, it was more along the lines of he was afraid that he would again say the wrong thing or the wrong name. He was rather embarrassed by that as it were anyway, he hadn’t really thought about the way he said her name, it had just come out.

She was a dainty eater, even with blood trickling down her muzzle and neck, she was soon done and he stood and returned to the dead carcass on the ground and began to chew at the hide to get it off. I’ll have to stretch this out on the ground for a few days, but it will make a comfortable nest for someone. How about you? Would you like it for your den? Sort of as a welcome to your new home sort of gift. he didn’t look up at her, thinking maybe if he didn’t look at her, she would be a bit more comfortable.

Kodokuna wondered for a split second why he seemed to avoid looking at her, maybe she had eaten too messily? But she decided he must just be concentrated on the hide. She followed his lead helping him peel the skin off of the carcass.

Kodo knew that his offer was just the males way of being curtious but she smiled feeling like she was being truly accepted by him as a pack mate.

"I would very much appreciate having it for my den." She replied softly looking at him hoping to catch his gaze. She very much appreciated being taken so well care of by him, the food sat well in her stomach. She hadn't felt her hunger sated in a very long time.Of course she didn't eat herself completely full since she did not make the kill , but that didn't bother her much. Any food was welcome in her eyes.

Jace looked up and blue eyes gaze met blue and green iris and he gave her a small crooked boyish grin. He was a mover and a shaker; he took care of others it was how he got by with the marred pieces of his soul. He fought to keep on the straight and narrow, but sometimes he didn’t make it. So he made up for it when he could, by being kind to others. He was making up for something, and he didn’t know what, but it was almost a compulsion for him.

Well then you can have it Kodo, I’ll just have to dry it out for you, and then once it’s done you let me know where your den is and I’ll bring it for you. Speaking of which, are you going to need help digging one? he didn’t know about that he’d try, but he slept in the open most of the time himself.

"I suppose help would be nice" Kodo replied her voice a little stronger, she was finally getting over the idea of Jace as a threat. She nudged the kill a little to pull the last of the hide off.

She hadn't always been so timid, she used to be a warrior, strong and proud. It had gotten her no where but fight upon fight. Now she relied on herself silently, only taking help that had been offered, never daring to ask. She was a prideful creature to no end, and this was one of her major faults.

"Is the rest of the pack as kind as you?" She asked gingerly moving her gaze back to her own paws, afraid to keep any sort of eye contact for too long.

Jace saw that the one side was clear and he spoke softly Alright back up a bit, I don’t want to hit you while I flip this beast over. He pulled on the underside of it and his back and shoulder muscles straining he flipped it over. He sat down panting.

He chuckled I don’t know if they are or not, they’ve always been nice to me and Ferdie is of course nice, especially to females and pups, he’s actually a big ole softy, my sister Vienna is nice to everyone and so is Nightingale. Amekaze is nice, but she is quiet she has to get to know you before she holds a long conversation with you. I don’t know the newest members well enough yet to tell you if they are or not.

Kodo listend to him silently, she couldn't help but worry that the pack wouldn't like her. The two highest ranking members weren't offended by her looks, but would the others be? She moved silently to continue skinning the animal, She didn't have much to say. A lot of questions, but none she wanted to ask right away. She knew she would have time for them eventually, possibly answer a few on her own.

Her white paws were stained with red as she held down the goats body, pulling away the soft hide. It wouldn't be long before her paws were stained with dirt instead. White fur was a hassle to keep clean and Kodo was thankful she only has two white paws to clean instead of four.

He looked at her and he spoke softly Listen Kodo, I think everyone will be fine with you, but if anyone gives you too much of a hard time and you can’t solve it on your own, Idon’t want to impose myself on you, anyway you give me a howl and I’ll come and tell them to back off deal? he didn’t understand what she was so worried about, she seemed sweet and she seemed to fit well within their ranks so, he saw no reason for the worry that marred her pretty features to be there.

They finished the goat all to soon and he stretched the hide out right there, it was larger than he thought it would be it would make a fair bed for her. There you go Kodo it just has to dry and then you’ll have a comfortable bed for your den.

Kodo looked at her paws and nodded as he offered his support with the others. She wasn't used to pack life, she hadn't had much of one when she was younger, so this would prove to be a very unique experience for her.

She watched as he flattened out the hide, allowing it to begin to dry. She realized he had spoken to her and she looked up, her mismatched eyes meeting his blue gaze. She put a smile on her face and looked back to the skin.

"Thank you again for sharing your kill with me, and the hide. Your kindness means more than you will understand Jace..." It was the first time she had called the male by his name, it felt strange to her, like she was disrespecting him when she knew that the thought was utter non-sense. She looked up at the sky, the sun high partially covered by clouds. The day was beautiful and only half over.

He saw her look down as she nodded and he wondered what had happened to make her so wary, it bothered him to a certain degree. Granted he knew it was none of his business and he really needed to work on his white knight syndrome, but he wanted to hurt whoever put the frown on her face.

He chuckled You’re very welcome KodoKuna you are one of us now, get used to the kindness. he grinned at her then and stood stretching out the muscles that had tightened as he worked. Alright Kodo I’m going to head downward and traverse our borders and deposit this in some of the caches you can come with if you like? Or I can talk to you later?

"I would like to come if that would be alright." Kodokuna replied with a quiet tone, she didn't want to be alone today. "I can carry the kill if you would like, you did most of the work earlier, it seems only fair I pull my weight." Her offer was completed with her tail wagging back and forth softly.

Kodokuna was a rather dainty wolf despite being on the larger size. She was thin for her length and height after living as a loner, unable to get enough food in her system. She looked upon the darker male, his eyes held some sort of trouble, and she wondered what would bother him. His life was everything she dreamed of. Kodo knew better than to ask, it usually led to the other wolf leaving, feeling offended at her attempt to comfort them.

Jace dipped his muzzle in thanks and acceptance. Of course you can come. We’ll have to break the kill up at the separate caches unless you want to do it now? he looked at her with blue eyes laughter evident in them, but in a nice way.

He stood silently and looked from the kill to the hide, just looking. They had done good work today thus far. We did good so far, I have to say.

Kodokuna looked back to the ground. She felt silly for asking to come after he had already offered. She decided her behavior must just be because she was tired, but something inside of her begged to differ.

"Why don't you take a break? You caught him, I'll break it up right now." Her offer was genuine. Kodo kept her gaze down, it was habit for her to be so overly submissive.

Jace chuckled again and promptly sat down . Alright you’ve twisted my paw, I’ll take a break, but only if you promise to talk to me while you work. I’m not a fan of silence when another is near, silence on my own yes. he shifted and lay down sphinx like, his tail swishing on the ground behind him, as he stretched his legs forward and his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

He shook his black head and then lay his head to his paws and waited with raised eyebrow and a small smile on his jaw line.

Kodo was an expert at disassembling animals, another skill her father had given her. "What would you like to talk about?" She asked quietly as she worked. Starting conversations was harder for the former loner. She had always been quiet, even as a pup, her parents used to joke that she could be mistaken for a swan, which was silent most of its life, only singing when if was going to die.

Kodo continued her work, pulling the joints from their sockets, pulling tendons from bone, and separating the muscles from each other.

Jace watched as she dissected the goat, she was amazing at it. Wow who taught you to do that? I’m a gamekeeper and you have me beat. She did too, he was proud of his prowess when hunting, but that girl she had him beat when it came to tearing it apart. Usually he just ripped in into chunks and carried it to the caches.

So tell me Kodo where are you from? And what made you decide to settle here? He shifted, but didn’t lift his head or his body, just continued to watch.