he stands not alone

Just one other, please. =)

Akhlut's heart pounded in his chest as he dodged the hog's tusks, snapping his jaws back in its face menacingly. It was, he knew, a stalemate, but his stubborn nature would not allow him to give way so easily. The hog's squalling piglets had been his intended meal, one for himself and three more to fill Horizon Ridge's newly-dug cache, but he hadn't supposed Daddy Hog would be just around the bend in the creek and hear his young ones' panic. Now it was a matter of pride that he at least attempt to best the coarsely-furred beast, but every time he sank his teeth into the boar's thick dark hide he found himself the target of a battering ram's swings at his chest, his shoulder, his sides.

"Damn you," the Alpha snarled, and dislodged his foreclaws from where they'd dug into the hog's rear haunches before loping a fair distance down the rocky hillside. He watched with wary ice-blue eyes as the swine nudged his children back into the rotted-out log that was their home. Snorting gruffly and not unlike the pig itself, Akhlut followed the creek—Tumbledown Creek, he'd dubbed it, in his own mind if to no-one else—a bit further downhill before lowering himself to the ground and beginning to lick the scrapes and shallow gouges his could-have-been meal had inflicted. Idly he daydreamed about some docile doe wandering across his path, an easy meal that would be delicious, could feed more than one of them, and didn't involve a risk of having his own guts spilled on the ground.

Kisu padded along lazily, taking in all of the new sights and smells. And one of those smells was plump little hogs that squealed happily. The grey wolf narrowed his shimmering golden eyes, thinking that soon they would no longer wail so cheerfully. Their father seemed on guard, perhaps defending against some other threat. The male decided that he could distract him easily enough and snatch one of the fat pigs for himself. He just hoped that he was not a victim of the tusks the grown pig wore on his face.

Kisu jumped through the thick bushes and plants, weaving through the trees. He hunkered down, watching the father grunt around as his piglets crowded each other safely near the log. He swung around and jumped from the bush in a wide stance to gain the hog's attention. The father squealed boisterously, charging at Kisu, who ran while carefully keeping an eye on the male behind him. Diving in some bushes, the grey and white male hid as the angry pig flew by. Kisu noted blood on the pig's hide and wheeled around, quickly tracking back to the location of his desired snack. The fat one he chose was helpless as he sunk his teeth into its neck and snapped his neck wildly, breaking the piglet's neck in the process.

He eyed the location wildly, and took off before the rustle in the bushes could make itself known; the hog roared behind Kisu as he happily trotted away with his small meal. The male followed the creek that flowed outward toward the great sea, looking for a comfortable place to feast. He stopped to drink on the way, the cool liquid easily sliding down his throat. The weather made the water icy cold, a temperature that Kisu quite enjoyed.

He stopped his journey for a meal spot, though, when he noticed a black male licking himself in the distance.

The tang of blood was sharp on Akhlut's tongue, the tastes of the hog's blood and of his own mingling until they were indistinguishable. It did nothing to ease his appetite, only serving to make him hungry and irritated that his hunt had been unsuccessful. Even here, overlooking the Sea, prey was rather scarce and the deer herds had thinned and become so easily startled that they moved through the woods like ghosts, their presence fleeting and their movements nigh impossible to track, let along to stalk and hunt them. Akhlut eyed the thick boughs of Ravensblood Forest and he wondered if it was that near-impenetrable woodland that concealed them.

Another male wandered just then into the periphery of Akhlut's awareness, and his icy blue gaze shifted to fix upon the pale wolf. Specifically he narrowed his eyes to see the piglet dangling from the other's jaws and a flare of anger welled up inside the young Alpha. He stood up and lifted his tail to arch over his dark back, and he issued a sharp bark to catch the other wolf's attention. "Did you come to gloat? " His tone was quite frankly offended, and though Akhlut knew by scent that this wolf was one of his own, the Kesuk-Nereides did not feel very kindly towards him. The wolf had obviously watched him fail in his hunt, then managed to kill a piglet and bring it to the Alpha just to show off. It almost seemed a challenge.

Kisu immediately recognized the male's voice. He froze and his eyes widened. He set his tail against his legs and put his ears back to his head. Approaching slowly he gently laid the piglet in front of the Alpha, then backing away a few feet.

"I did not mean to upset you; I hope you enjoy the snack, my leader." Kisu bowed, teetering on the edge of making eye contact, but deciding against it; it had been a long time since he had been a subordinate, and he was still iffy on what it entirely was. But he was trying his best to be submissive and attentive at the same time.

Akhlut supposed his ire might have been hasty, but despite this thought the Alpha was still disgruntled. The lighter wolf's quick submission and handing over his lunch was a perfectly acceptable response, generally speaking, but it only served to displease the Kesuk-Nereides. The ebony wolf gave a small shake of the head and nudged the piglet's bloodied body back towards his subordinate. "You killed it. It is yours." That was the way of things, for the Light wolf. "I do not ask for groveling or for gifts. These things I reserve for Sun and Sea and Earth, not for myself."

The dark wolf searched the other male's form, noting his scars, and the obvious signs of age that the older wolf had earned through a few more years of life than Akhlut had yet seen. Curious, the leader supposed, that this wolf would choose to follow him and not to command his own pack. Yet the younger male would accept his loyalty and not question it. Instead, he said in a warmer tone than before, "You have seen more of the world and for longer than I have. My mothers taught me to respect my elders and I've forgotten it. I'm glad you're here in Horizon Ridge, and I'm sorry for snapping at you." A smile even flickered onto the Kesuk-Nereides' features, lighting his pale blue eyes with a spark. "Tell me, what do you think of the place?" Akhlut, quite obviously, was in love with his seaside ridge, and had no intentions of leaving the place.

Though the Alpha offered the food back, Kisu let it stay there while they conversed. The grey wolf huffed at being called old. Was his age really that far displaced from every other wolf around here? They all seemed to be yearlings, or not much older. He frowned slightly at the thought.

Kisu stood upright, his tail swaying slightly when his leader smiled at him. "Your mothers must have been very kind, ...may I ask your name? My given name is Kisu." The male paused a beat before answering the Alpha's question. "I rather enjoy this area. I have never been to the sea before, and I feel free in the scent it gives. This will be an nice area year-round."

He supposed, from the other's frown, that he'd thought Akhlut was calling him old. The younger male had to chuckle, a bit at himself and a bit at Kisu, for he'd only meant to show respect and yet still had managed to offend. He'd only meant that the tawny wolf was older, not that he was ancient, but that he still had a lot more worldliness to him than Akhlut did at the age of two. Still, whatever moment of offense between either of them passed quickly, and the Alpha listened politely to Kisu's assessment of Horizon Ridge. He nodded at its conclusion.

"I think we will do well here. Our numbers are small now, but it's winter. We will grow. Do spread word of us, if you meet any who would make our pack stronger. My name is Akhlut--send any you meet to me." The Kesuk wolf's chest puffed a bit with his pride as he spoke of the pack growing in size and in formidability as spring came to the lands. "And you, why did you choose to ally yourself with me?" For he did see them as allies moreso than subordinates. Akhlut was capable of domineering others, but he preferred to let them choose their own way instead of coercing them. If they wished to break free from Horizon Ridge, then so be it--it was their free will--but they would not be welcomed back. That was the brand of justice that Akhlut's Light nature dictated--free will, but with consequences. The Light could be soft and gentle like the flickering of stars, but the Light could also be scorching and harsh like the desert sun.

Kisu smiled at the chuckle the black and white gave to his reaction. He assumed that the Alpha meant to harm, and took the comment as nothing more than just an observation. The opposing male did not seem the type to try to purposely offend, and he had a light tone to his voice when he spoke. He seemed hopeful of the pack numbers to grow as the seasons changed, and Kisu had no doubt that many wanderers would come for the ocean and stay for the safety of the pack. He showed dominance, asking that any be sent to him, but had a certain humbleness to him.

"To be honest, there are a few reasons. I needed a pack for the winter seasons, and I really enjoy the area out here. Your calling suggested that you find yourself capable, and now that I've met you, you also seem very courteous but sure of yourself. It reminds me of my time reigning as an Alpha of my own pack." Kisu did not mean disrespect in any of his words; he was just answering honestly the question that Akhlut had posed to him.

Kisu's reasons for seeking a pack were forthright enough, although Akhlut felt a quiver of uncertainty at the male's mention of leading a pack prior. He surely hadn't meant it as challenge, but Akhlut couldn't help but imagine that a former Alpha would eventually chafe under the authority of another, particularly a younger male. After a pause, the ebony Alpha decided to store that bit of information away for possible recall later on, and to let the issue slide out of mind for now.

"And what have you been doing for the pack since we've founded?" Akhlut asked, not interrogating, simply curious as to what one of his earliest recruits found to do with his days, and to what use he might be put in the pack. "Do you know anything of other packs?" What little Akhlut knew of his neighbors was brought to him on the wind, but that information was garbled and unreliable; scents he had noted passing through the lands were no longer there, while new ones came to take their place, none of them strong enough to distinguish any nearby locale as a claimed land.

Deciding to answer Ahklut's second question first, he said, "Yes, there is another pack on Blacktail Deer Plateau. I am currently attempting to court a female from there. They moved from a very dark forest to the plateau not too long ago. I know nothing else." He had given the Alpha all of the information he knew, but he went through his words in his mind once more.

After nodding (in somewhat agreement with himself), he began once more. "As for what I have been up to, not much. Marking the borders and guarding them, mostly. Playing or resting on the beach when I take breaks. I was a warrior previously, so I try to stick with what I know." Kisu took a step back and rested on his haunches.

Fading this out. Hope you don't mind.

Akhlut twitched his ears forward to listen to what Kisu had to say. The older wolf was not a fount of knowledge about the area but what he did know was good and solid information that the swarthy Alpha was pleased to receive. Akhlut's mood lightened and the pair of males spent a length of time in conversation before Akhlut retired to higher ground, leaving the pale wolf his piglet with no hard feelings for having been bested at the hunt. The disgruntled squeals of the father boar followed the yearling Alpha up to the top of the Ridge, and he knew that they would encounter one another again--he could only hope that it was the swine that would lose their next battle, and not himself.