Stavanger Bay floating for life

The past two years had seen growth and maturity in Kaertok. Time brought him ever-closer to his fifth year of life with no signs of stopping. He had spent much of his time learning the ways of Tartok, eventually gaining the name himself, but eventually he wished to branch off and live his own life. And what better place to go than the place where he had once lived? He had been born in the Teekon Wilds, so why shouldn't he come back?

The Tartok wolf came to the northern marked borders of a coastal pack, and while he had always been a mountain wolf, he was not opposed to such things. His head dropped to the ground, and he sniffed the sand. Particles stuck to his wet nose when he did so.

for reasons related to the whole fireford fiasco, we will keep rannveig's present state vague -- but it's probably good to assume that rannveig was still on edge, which was exactly why in this given moment he was patrolling the borders and not deep within the rift.

he wanted to make sure no wolf ever was allowed in stormrift again (is that even viable? IRREGARDLESS!), and was unusually stormy as he came across kaertok sniffing the sand outside of stormrift's claim. "hey!" rannveig was already at defcon-1, considering recent events. poor kaertok wasn't even given the benefit of the doubt. nope, he was here because he was trouble, rannveig was sure of it. fixing him with a very unwelcome look, the ceto demanded answers. "what do you want?"

A greeting (if you could call it that) and a rather brusque question tumbled out of the mouth of the wolf that approached him. This put Kaertok immediately on edge, but he managed to keep his hackles smoothed out for the time being. What do you have to offer? he asked. The Tartok wolf had no intention of joining up with just any lot of losers, and he wanted to know if this was a lot of losers so he could make a decision.

He knew that some wolves would blindly join any pack that would take them, but he was not one of those wolves. He was as proud as any Tartok, and he would seek out the strongest bunch and make his alliance with them. Of course, all that would be moot if they didn't deem him worthy.

now that he was closer (and assuming he still had his eyes, who knows, stay tuned) rannveig had a chance to assess the man. if he was smarter and maybe less prideful, he would have backpedaled from his aggro-crag posture (it was a front, anyway). mostly because while rannveig was tall, this man stood like a mountain -- he might be out of his element inciting the range of what appeared to be a swarthy ranger.

well, it was too late for take-backs, and rannveig was nothing if not someone who stuck to his guns. "what?!" he replied, feeling the fur on his spine bristle.. that was not a hecking answer! he had asked first!! "that's not how it works. you're supposed to offer me something, not the other way around. i've got what you want, i assume, which is a pack. SO, bro - what do you have to offer? i'm not the boss, but that doesn't mean i won't judge the shit out of you if you answer that wrong." rannveig of course, would refuse to acknowledge that anyone but ford was his captain. blame it on his sailor blood, or the fact he came from an intractable line of dipshits. "so, again -- who are you, and why here?" god, upset and overwrought rannveig is no fun to write and probably even less enjoyable to thread with.

Kaertok stood, listening indifferently to the wild ranting of what was clearly a wolf gone mad. If you knew what I wanted, then why did you ask? he replied, but he didn't intend on extending this conversation further, and it was asked rhetorically. But no bother now; I'll be on my way. Clearly, this would not be a good fit. Any pack which allowed such a wolf among their ranks was a weak one, and Kaertok did not wish to be a part of it. In a way, this mad wolf had answered his question rather well. The pack offered nothing he wanted.

With a flick of his tail and a small sniff, the large white wolf turned away.

well shit -- turns out being hyperdefensive and accosting a perfectly well-meaning stranger came with consequences after all. rannveig huffed, expelling his confused emotions with a long sigh. it wasn't his fault, right?

he scowled as the male turned away, fixing his features in a frown. kaertok had seemed hale, and possibly not malicious - but rannveig had no way to know that and was too on edge to have approached more, uh, diplomatically. "that's it?" he scoffed, wanting to stop kaertok and ask him to stay, but feeling that annoying thing called pride worm its way into his actions. "i didn't know what you wanted. you could be a murderer, or like that other asshole that came by recently. i had to play it safe." ugh, did he really have to apologize? rannveig, a male, hated apologizing.

he tried to keep up if kaertok kept walking. "look. someone came by and attacked our leader recently. sorry. maybe you deserved better. maybe you didn't. i can't be too safe. if.. you'd help me drive this guy out.. i think we could make this work."

So his actions had a reason, although Kaertok hardly considered it an excuse. It was a half-assed apology followed by the realization that maybe he'd done something wrong. But the last bit of information was the interesting part. Somebody had come through and taken the head of the pack, and this guy was none-too-pleased about the change in leadership. Now there was something Kaertok could sink his teeth into (maybe quite literally).

He halted, letting his ears fan back as he thought on it. How exactly would I benefit from that? he asked, allowing the other wolf to make the terms. It might win him some brownie points, but was that really all Kaertok wanted?

half-assed apology?! WRONG. that was a manpology, and rannveig was secretly patting himself on the back for such a contrite, sincere apology. he was relieved to see kaertok slow, though he felt slightly irritated that the roles were so reversed. now he was the one begging, and once again, kaertok the one asking what's in it for me? that needled his pride, but for the sake of ford and his family, rannveig for once kept his trap shut.

"i dunno, a pack, food in your belly, friends.. that kind of stuff. we're mostly a family pack, this hasn't happened before and.. well, my brother's a bit banged up." rannveig gave a roll of his shoulders in helplessness. "but before all this, this was a haven. all the island food you could want, countless beach babes, you know. i liked it here. maybe you would too. "

Whatever had transpired earlier, we will keep things vague for now. Firefly was probably a big mess and he also probably should have sequestered himself somewhere safe to recuperate; seeing as he was the aggressor, nothing was safe. He ended up following after one of the beasts from the heart of the territory until he came upon the man talking with a stranger. It was curious to see how xenophobic the silver boy was - then again, he was probably rattled after all the upheaval Firefly's usuruping ass had been doing.

Whatever. He came striding up to the pair at a safe distance and called to the stranger, If you want to stay then stay. There's plenty of room, and food. Best be wary of the natives though, unless you have a good set of teeth on you. He smirked and glanced at Rannveig, wondering if he would try anything.

It was curious that he would choose to stay here even though he no longer liked it. If one didn't like their leader, wasn't the smart move to leave and find something better? Perhaps he could even take his brother with him. It didn't sound as though this was a haven any longer. Still, there were things that could be taken advantage of, and Kaertok felt opportunity knocking. Especially when the usurper showed up to welcome him into the fold.

He shot the other wolf a vague look, but if there was any meaning behind it, Kaertok kept it well-hidden. Very well, he said, then did his second one-eighty of the day and began making his way back toward the pack's marked borders. If this was his destiny, so be it.

rannveig prepared for kaertok’s answer, his ears pressed forward — but it was Firefly who materialized and stole his attention. immediately, the sea-cur’s ears slicked back. his posture shifted, and a sneaking, apprising look gathered upon his wizened features. 

he canted his head abruptly towards firefly as he met kaertok’s gaze, as if to say ‘hey that’s him’ — but rather than stay and give firefly the satisfaction of laughing at his joke, rannveig issued a low grumble and slunk off. he would not withstand the usurper’s company, and there was plenty of beach that was yet uninhabited.

He expected more of a rebuttal from the silver wolf, maybe the brandishing of teeth or another attempt at a brawl, but was met with something far more lackluster. As they slunk away Firefly huffed softly and watched him go; then he glanced to the pale wolf, and after a brief inspection of him with some cursory sniffs to determine their health and fitness level, deemed the situation resolved. He shrugged his shoulders and went on his own way - leaving Kaertok to adjust to his new home. He would've helped but, it was all new to Firefly as well.