Wheeling Gull Isle what would hope be without disappointment

Forward dating to the 26th of March :)

After his acceptance, Ruvik had stayed at the fringes of the pack mostly out of habit (and a little paranoia). Whenever he saw one of the wolves of Yuèlóng in the distance, or came across their scent trail, he immediately scampered the other way. Unfortunately — despite its size — living on an island meant this happened quite often, and it was during one of these times after fleeing from another that Ruvik found himself amongst the tide pools.

There, anxiety turned to fascination as he picked his way around the pools, enamoured with the colours each individual one displayed. Tiny creatures scuttled around in places, while others tempted him closer with gentle, waving patches of seagrass. The boy leaned down to sniff at a larger rock pool, nervously pulling away a few times before finally managing to touch the surface of the water with his nose.

Sometime between these (this, that) threads.

Unfamiliar, but carrying the island's scent. What you doing? Ying asked. She slowly descended her perch and walked across the shores, finding her way into the tide pools' catacombs. When had she last visited?

You are...Ruvik? He was the only unfamiliar male which she was yet unaware of, and based on Hua's description — timid, mostly — he did fit the bill. Ying settled onto her hindquarters to patiently await his answer.

What you doing? The question seemed to come out of nowhere and startled Ruvik into attention. Instantly pulling away from the pool, he sat straight up, head snapping to where the voice had come from. His gaze locked onto a well-muscled form making her way confidently towards him. He remembered her from the pack meeting, and recalled her name just as she spoke his.

"N-nothing," he stammered with a whine, lowering himself and backing away sheepishly as if he had been doing something wrong. "Ruvik only looking."

Physically intimidating, perhaps, but Ying hadn't said anything to frighten him (right?). She watched him stammer his response and leaned forward, deliberate in her movement so as to not startle him again. You can look, she assured him.

She cleared her throat. Already, she'd formed an opinion of Ruvik that was quite different from her sister's. Ying shrugged her shoulders and said, I just want to say hello.

She gently assured him, leaning forward with slow movements as if she were approaching an alert deer. Ruvik continued to meekly cower, panicked gaze never reaching Ying's own. He remembered too from the meeting that she had been promoted to be a leader alongside Huā. However, the exact name of her rank was in a foreign tongue, one he struggled to pronounce.

At the woman's greeting, the male croaked out a quiet, "hello." Hesitantly, he then began to creep forward, tongue flicking in and out nervously. "Ying?" he said, tone questioning, before he bowed his head in submission. "W-warrior queen, yes?"

No, she laughed, Not Queen. There were implications behind her new title, and she knew this, but anyone who knew anything about Ying would have seen the poor fit. I lead the jūnshí, like our fighters. She lifted her brow and looked him over, wondering if he might volunteer himself for their training.

Aiming to further comfort the boy, Ying settled onto her belly and stretched her tired limbs. How you like the island? she asked. The change between territories for any inland wolf would have been drastic, she assumed.

She corrected him with a laugh, and Ruvik swallowed down the nervous lump in his throat that had formed, bowing his head as if humiliated by his wrong assumption. Though she denied she was a queen, she seemed every bit one to the boy, if not a slightly more fierce one than Huā.

The Jūnshí. He was reminded again that the language of the island was a curious one, though Ruvik dared not pronounce it with his untrained tongue. He was oblivious to her inspection of him, keeping his eyes intently focused on the ground, but was grateful to learn that Yuèlóng had a battalion of fighters at their disposal.

At her question, he sneaked a glance at her now reclined form, taking it as a cue to relax. However, the most Ruvik did was tentatively sit down, back arched and limbs tense as always. "Island is..." Noisy. Smelly. Windy. "...safe."

He hesitates a moment before continuing. "Ruvik th-thankful to Huā. Mainland d-dangerous."

mainland dangerous— curious, she tilted her head, silently asking him to explain further. had ruvik known the wolves she currently sought? what else could he have meant? ying wondered if there were more things to worry about than she currently thought.

can you fight? she asked. danger is only danger because it can hurt. if you can fight, it can not hurt anymore. ying's opinion was that all adults should know some degree of self-defense, but that this was a general requirement of their group's men.

He sees her tilt her head curiously at his statement, though Ruvik does not pick up the cue to explain further, instead remaining silent as he looks to the ground with a thousand-yard stare.

Her second question earns Ying a slow shake of his head. "S-some danger cannot...cannot be fought," he says somewhat distantly before he is suddenly jostled back into reality by a particular loud crash of waves. Startled, Ruvik looks to the ocean, then back to Ying. His ears fall as he admits, "Ruvik cannot fight."

He was no warrior.

not every battle could be won, but that didn't mean one shouldn't fight. ying was disappointed in his response; her sister had mentioned his timid nature, though she hadn't been expecting this. ruvik probably didn't have much promise as a warrior anyway.

still: do you want to learn? ying wondered how his priorities were arranged. self-preservation obviously wasn't on the list, else he might have had better answers.

Her offer caused his lips to pull into a tight, thin line. Even if he did want to fight, could he learn? He didn't doubt Ying's abilities as a capable warrior, though he did doubt himself. There had been many times where he could have escaped a situation had he simply had the courage to stand up and fight, but Ruvik would always choose the option to run or submit instead. To fight was to face the possibility of death.

Realising he had been silent for a few moments, Ruvik nervously licked his lips before answering quietly, "n-no." He felt the stab of guilt like a knife in his gut, and he looked to Ying with a desperate plea for forgiveness. "But Ru-Ruvik help Yuèlóng in-in other ways!"

hoping we can fade this?

ruvik's nervousness was becoming more annoying than off-putting. ying was tired of hearing him cower, as though she threatened him with her presence. she had been nothing but kind and welcoming, just as her sister had suggested she be. 

ying drew in a deep breath and tried to hide her inner thoughts. she took several steps closer, trying to ease the tension by leveling with ruvik. how you help? she asked quietly, keeping her voice calm. tell me your skills.

Wrapping up with this post :D

She moved forward after an inhale, causing Ruvik to shrink even more inward, though this time he did not scuttle away from her. To say he feared them would be a lie, but he still had a great deal of distrust and wariness of strangers, even if they were his pack mates.

Ying's question caused him this time to draw in a breath, thinking carefully on an answer; the calm way she spoke helped ease his nerves a little. He went on then to explain his skills, meager as they were; hunting, fishing, scrounging. He made sure to emphasize he would work to become useful to Yuèlóng; he would not be a burden.

Whether Ying believed him or not, he could not tell, but eventually he was dismissed by the leader of the Jūnshí, and with a dip of his head and a hushed thank you, the boy hurriedly took his leave.