zoot suit riot

Joining post! Located at the border of course <3

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I wonder how disappointed she was.

Melancholy thoughts pooled in the back of the typically jovial fellow's mind as he shrugged through the crisp stalks of dead weeds; their natural listlessness of summer had long since been lost during the frozen weeks. They now stood as frozen tines beneath the grey blue of a wintery sky...their colorless luster making him yearn for a newborn spring. Not that this place he'd found was necessarily devalued by the residency of winter. Rather he had long grown tired of plodding through feet of snow in search of trails that led to nowhere.

Such fruitless journeys would've been much easier to have on warmer soil.

The land around him was foreign and off-putting. Strange considering it'd belonged to him. But only briefly. Merely moments in what had been a true test of his ability to lead. He'd failed, miserably, and had exiled himself in a bid to tidy up his mind. But now that he'd recovered and returned it seemed Koontz's bid at leadership hadn't gone along so well either...and he felt a pang of guilt at having (literally) thrown her to the wolves.

A brisk wind tousled his already disorderly pelt and he lifted his muzzle to the air for a habitual, hopeful sniff. Koontz?

Sun-kissed eyes lost their momentary shine. No.

Lost in a hybrid world of feeling both letdown and relieved - consequential of both his longing for the old time companion and the terror of her revenge for his desertion - the neutral colored party wolf sighed and put his paw heavily back onto the path that skirted a new pack's well defined boundary. He had to keep moving forward...with or without her beside him.

Hawkeye moved through the forest, the canopy shielding most of her lands from the blanket of snow, but piles of it lay here and there. Her thick coat protected her from the cold, and she wouldn't have minded if the snow covered her lands but enjoyed that it did not.

Thirst tugging at her throat, she moved the opposite direction of her ledge. She daydreamed of swallowing the cool wetness, when she opened her eyes wide. It was far off, but definitely moving. A white pelt. Her lips parted in an annoyed growl and the raven-colored female trotted, determined, in the direction of the possible intruder.

He or she seemed to be at the very border of her lands as she came closer. "Excuse me," she called from far off, displeasure apparent in her voice.

It was not long before his wanderings caught the attention of another wolf; beige tufts ushered forward at the drumming of loping steps that proceeded a not too friendly harkening. "You're excused!" he called back as his face turned toward the direction of his interceptor. The distant look of sullenness was washed away by his ever-quick flit of a smile...and though he lifted not his posture - lest he directly insult the authority of his welcoming party - it was clear that he was not all too concerned by the gruffness of her approach.

His plume gave a whisper soft waver to illustrate his amiable intentions. He was otherwise locked into place, rooted into the earth where his last steps had fallen, and made no notion to move neither forward nor back from the onyx sentry that was keeping her distance. "Howdy!" he called in his typical way.

The opposing wolf stood where he was, and Hawkeye narrowed her brow at the "howdy!" he sent her way. She wiped it away quickly with word from Sos that he was not a threat, though, and continued walking confidently in his direction. The dark charcoal-colored wolf stopped five feet from the male, and settled on her haunches. She trusted that her wolves were safe, since it was from the mouth of Sos that calmed her.

Still, she speculated why the male was resting on the edge of her home. "You are near my borders, as I assume you have figured. What is your business here?" Her words were quiet but solid in sound.

"Ahh..." he drawled methodically at her declaration. "They're yours now huh?" His first instinct was to openly admit that he'd been ruler of this roost before...but the sharp eyes of his company made him second guess the admission. He had no desire to stir the pot (so to speak). "I've lived here before," he went with instead, "but it's been a while. I'd returned to see how things were going."

He couldn't help but feel a little let down that Koontz, wearing her little miss big britches, wasn't here giving him an earful. Ax wanted to ask...but he wasn't much in a hurry to learn how things had turned out. She wasn't the alpha. She wasn't there. It was all he needed to know.

Shoving aside his inner monologue the fellow smiled amicably at the she wolf seated before him. "My name is Ariston," he began, "and I'm searching for a place to stay."

The dark female silently wondered if he had been an ally of Koontz. This angered her, but she kept the placid look on her face. No word from Sos came on the subject. She shrugged it off, but let it settle in front of her mind, deciding to ask him some other time.

"Ariston." She nodded at the male while speaking his name. "I am Hawkeye. By place to stay, I assume that you would like to be among the ranks of my pack. What do you have to offer the wolves of Blacktail Deer Plateau?; are you skilled in hunting? An excellent fighter?" She paused, sounding as if she was to continue, but moved her paw forward a bit and, at the same time, decided against saying any more.

"I am a poor hunter," he admitted openly. It would do him no good to lie or otherwise tailor his words to best flatter the leader before him. "But I am honest. Intelligent. I know enough of the wild to have survived on my own for almost half a year now. I get along well with others and like keeping the peace...I have no desire to start trouble or interrupt routines." His head canted a bit as he listened to a bird trill in the woodlands off to the west. "I'm not battle tested but I am willing to learn," he continued when the song died out. A quaint smile curled on his lips as he added, "And I like to be praised...so I often go out of my way to get it. Which in turn is beneficial to you in most every way."

Hawkeye nodded at the wolf, considering. "You and Vires may become good friends, then, Ariston. She is the wanderer in the pack and also works very well in pack relations. I myself like to stick to strictly business when it comes to such things, but your disposition and willingness to learn could benefit the pack." She paused a moment, running things through her mind.

And then she nodded once more. "You will be ranked as sigma until you have proven yourself. Welcome to Blacktail Deer Plateau, Ariston. The den is near the back of the plateau, where the trees begin to thin. I will hunt to fill up the cache soon, and to please my god, Sos, though you are allowed to have any beliefs you wish in my pack. You are welcome to join me on the hunt in a few days time. Feel free to explore until then." She smiled gently at the male, her light key-lime eyes shining. At first, she had thought that her pack might fail, but new members came weekly and this excited her.

We've got just a few more replies to make it to 10!
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A flow of new information, with an affirmation of acceptance, filled the male's ears after Hawkeye seemed satiated by his reply. Sigma was a rank he was familiar with and though admittedly low on the totem pole it felt to him an adequate starting place...one he took without complaint. Sos was a term utterly foreign to him and his audits flicked at its mention. He himself had never contemplated gods or religion; he'd been a simpleton who regarded himself as either dead or undead.

Making no comment of neither her system nor his own the beige wanderer bobbed his head low and stepped forth as the Plateau's newest member. Hawkeye appeared entirely softened from her stalwart approach and he glanced at her with curious eyes...memorizing the hopeful expression that'd bled onto her facade.

"Shall I escort you back home then, m'Lady?" he inquired as his footsteps led him just beside her.

Hawkeye blushed momentarily, for she was caught off-guard by the male's sweet disposition. The only thing she could bring herself to do was nod dumbly, and wonder where he gained such a chivalrous nature.

"Will you be sleeping in the pack den?" she found herself saying, and a parting of her mouth showed the surprise at her own inquiry.

Dark cheeks hid the blush and thus her brief fluster went unnoticed by him. But he had an inkling that a regal she wolf such as herself was perhaps not accustomed to casual creatures like him...and though he acted as usual the nature of his replies were watered down to prevent unintentional insult. Where there would've normally been a wink and subtle flirtation there was instead a grin and a softened answer. "If you would like my company on this cold night I wouldn't mind it," he responded. "You need only to lead the way so I know where to settle come nightfall."

She nodded quietly, not knowing how to respond. Mentally smacking herself for being so shy, she began leading the way to the den. The large female was not used to such friendly wolves, but she found herself not minding it and hoped that she would warm up to it in time.

Throwing the words he had spoken around in her head, she was momentarily curious as to whether or not his words had meant to be flirtatious. Heat encased her face, and she thanks Sos that he could not see her, and that wolves could not visibly blush.