Neverwinter Forest Children of the Firehawk

@Lasher Here you are! <3

Her patrol took her past the borders today, branching out a bit into the forest near the Spine as she tracked a scent. It had been close, too close to their territory and the great beast was following it to make sure they did not linger nearby. She took no chances, her pride and honor too great to allow her such mistakes. She did not learn from mistakes; she simply didn't make stupid decisions. 

A den opening caught her attention, veering off her path to go investigate. Cool, damp air met her inside the abode, eyes adjusting to the darkness that overtook her. Vacant. Empty. Snorting, she squatted, marking the den to make it seem as though the place was taken. No wolf should be living this close to them, not if they valued their hide. 

Exiting, Kroc paused a moment to stretch, and was halfway through when there was a sound off to her left. Ears swiveled, her body losing any motion as she watched the opening between the trees. Watching, waiting, wondering who was so near to the Spine.

I POSTED AND THE BOARD ATE IT

he had drawn near to the spine out of curiosity. the pack had once been led by a madman and his sylph, then a fierce reign by a woman who had been presumably killed led to the rule of a proud yearling and her skulking mate. now he knew not who governed the rocky hackles, and approached carefully, nares flaring.

tonravik.

the ire that siku had left within lasher welled suddenly, and fur ridged his back. her daughter had returned, but had not sought her loyal followers, and for that would taltos always be resentful of tartok and its flighty leaders.

he made as if to turn away, only to catch sight of fierce golden eyes fixed upon him with all the intensity of a hawk, and inexplicably froze beneath their scrutiny.

They watched each other, still and silent. He didn't smell like he'd been wandering here for too long but was that because of the smell of pack that hung around him? Her eyes narrowed, considering the possible, and the impossible. Had they been any closer, the female's demeanor would have been much more violent but as it was, he was not as close as he could have been.

"Why do you linger here?" Her tone was low, rough. She'd never been soft-spoken, and didn't want to be. Appearances and first impressions didn't matter to the creature who attacked those at the borders on sight.

I'm so sorry this is short! I'll get better I promise!

it was fine!

she approached, and he saw behind her golden eyes the full weight of her task, guarding the lovely borders of this packland. he moved his plume in an amiable manner, though he did not defer to her. his rank was his own in neutral territory. yet lasher was not a proud beast; his confidence was silent, not overbearing. "curiosity," taltos answered softly, his eyes shining with the unspoken request for general information.


"i am lasher, beta male of blacktail deer plateau."

A single word, one that easily answered her demanding question. She noted the movement of his tail, the way he held himself. The wolf was not meek but not overly confident either, which was fine as he was not truly at their borders. Her posture relaxed the slightest bit, hackles flattening against her spine once more, a brief shake of her body relaxing her muscles as well.

Lasher. Beta. Black Deer. Her mind put the information away and let her own mouth move in response. "Kroc of Ouroboros Spine. The former alpha lingers with us no longer." Of course she didn't. If she did, it would have been only in spirit form. But it was a simple explanation to inform him that the Spine had a new leader. One that didn't desert their pack.

she relaxed, but lasher heard the pride in her voice, and by it was angered. "your leader is tonravik," he murmured silkily, "daughter of siku, who ruled a peak here once called tartok. i was her inneriyok, her koksortok," taltos revealed, his voice gaining a knife edge. "siku abandoned us to begin a life with kilgarrah. tonravik returned to lead us, but she too departed."


he shook the growing hackles down from his ruff. "she will leave you again. already your ferocity and loyalty to her and to this mountain makes you more fit than she to rule." he was well aware upon what dangerous ground he trod, but the bleeding bruise had been ripped open, and taltos was enraged.

His anger was a catalyst to her own, her lips lifting to bare her teeth at home as he spoke ill of the only family she'd ever truly had. She had run with Tartok in the beginning, had joined Siku before the puzzle pieces had fallen together. True, she had left Tartok as well but Siku had understood and given her leave. 

Her snarl was deep and guttural, passionate. A step forward was taken, her head lowering, not in submission but in an automatic move to protect her throat. Her tail rose opposite, her words commanding and gave no room to allow anything else. "Hold your tongue, motherfucker." Beta of some shit-fest place or not, he was on neutral ground. They both were. Her vulgarity would not be kept in check. 

"If our presence here is bothering you, then turn around and get the fuck away from here." If he insisted on standing here still, she would mark him as all traitors of Tartok were marked. Talk shit, get hit, more or less.

kroc is so hawt

she snarled, lips peeling back from her teeth, and likewise taltos responded in kind. he was not upon her borders, and the truth of tonravik and tartok had been spat upon the mountain. and so he pulled back from her; lasher was of a defensive type, and would strike with tooth and nail if the woman gave fang to him, but would not attack first.

he spoke no more; 'twas not her presence on the mount that irked him so, but tonravik's very existence. 

lasher was still, hackles raised, unwilling to turn his back and depart.

<3!

He did not back down, and though there were no more words, this dark wolf would learn that he would not speak ill of Tartok in the presence of a Tartok wolf. She didn't give a shit if he had once been one himself because obviously, he was one no more as he had no issue besmirching the name as if it held no meaning to him. Words did no good here anymore, her baritone snarl building into the canine version of a roar. 

No matter that he did not attack, for Kroc would gladly take the offensive to him. Her heavy frame moved, her teeth snapping at that face, his ears, essentially anything she could reach. The woman had every intention of marring his snout, possibly even blinding him. The bastard would pay for his ill-spoken words, of that, Kroc would make sure.

consent given to post!!! by both parties bUT GINA IF THIS ISNT COOL LEMME KNOW

 

It was a familiar scent that caught her attentions, and she followed it ardently, excitedly. There were many she could not tell of her mission, of the war, that had taken her from this place the first time. And her work had never been done; again she had to go, and had not told even Echelon, though that trip had been a shorter one. Tonravik would not steal the wolves of Tartok away from what they may have built themselves in the meantime, knowing that Tartok was a lifelong commitment in itself. Eventually, they found their way back; or, perhaps, as luck might have it, she would find them.

Kroc, too, she could smell, and in nearing them the tension was palpable. But when she saw the makings of attack, she looked to Taltos and to her subordinate and let out a roar of her own, moving to intervene, to intersect. The bear of a woman moved to go between the two, certain she might get caught in the crossfire. But then, Tonravik knew that this was her battle to fight. 

posting from phone srry

she lunged for him, and instinct dictated he tuck chin to chest, to protect his vulnerable throat. he was lithe, quick despite his years, and this was the binding tie that held him fast to life. her teeth scored across the bridge of his nose, rending deeply the thin flesh , and blood flew to patter against the ground.

taltos met her roar with a low growl of his own, seeking purchase on the earth through the welter of crimson assaulting his vision. and all at once he was made to stumble by the crashing bearlike body of siku's daughter. fearful, yet enraged, the beta licked blood from his jaws and glared maliciously at the pair of them.

She struck easily, teeth digging grooves on the brown snout of the wolf opposing her. There was a bit of blood, normal for a muzzle wound, as she hadn't marked him too much. The roar of her own alpha had distracted. Her from doing anything more, her body between them making her pull back, a snarl ripping through her vocal chords as the shit-talker was defended. 

For a moment, her eyes did not move from him, mind so focused on her self-appointed task that she did not recognize the dark wolf between them at first. But she made no move, her snarl dying as she glanced at her alpha, her posture reflecting the she-wolf's dominance. "Tonravik." There was no scramble to defend what she'd done, and was still tempted to do. No justification. 

Instead, Kroc's eyes settled on the male, her malevolent gaze focusing on him once more. "Go on, fucker. You wanna talk shit, do it now, to her face instead of being a motherfucking coward." The growl was edging back into her voice, daring him to decline the offer to repeat his words. 

Lasher bled, and Tonravik was irate, her tail rigid and terribly still behind her.

An ear cupped to take in Kroc's words, and she observed the earthen man before her. He had spoken ill of her? A wounded look crossed her features then, offended; Taltos had known her, and her mother, and Tonravik held an ample amount of respect for him. The man before her was no stranger to Tartok, and how even its leaders might be called away to war without word. Sometimes, those leaders never returned because death took them. Tonravik, however, knew her place to build and begin was here. And so, when she could, she did.

Tonravik sought none of those that had followed her once, finding them by chance, by fortune. She saw the rage in him--felt it, even, it was so palpable--but could not react to it. For she refused to believe that he had turned so wholeheartedly against what he, even if denied it, was still very much a part of; Taltos had always been wise. Her stony eyes held him, in wait.

the pale beast halted her attack, and tonravik's eyes turned toward taltos. he straightened beneath her gaze, eyes hard above the drying blood caked onto his muzzle. for a long moment, he said nothing. tartok was a place of warriors, yes, and he had known of the call to war that besieged them all. and yet he was unforgiving, and vengeful. the first woman went ignored as the earthen servant faced the daughter of siku, siku, his witch, his most beloved witch.

"siku abandoned us. she never returned, and 'twas not war that called her, but kilgarrah. tartok bore my love and my loyalty, but we were spurned as so much offal. and you would have been my witch also -- i was chained to you, as i was to her, and still find myself. but you sought other things. this i understand, but tartok never remains the same, for you leave behind those who would swear eternal fealty, and gather new ones."

he was silent for a moment. "perhaps in the future, think better of those who loved you, tonravik, as this woman does. as i do."

omg i'm so sorry for kroc. i had no idea she was so adamant about this -flails-

He spoke and of course -- of course -- he said it in a far more respectful way than he had to her. Motherfucker. If she could have rolled her eyes, she would have but as it were, a derisive snort pushed through her nostrils, glowering at him as he spoke all pretty-like. Yeah, flower that shit up, asshole. 

"Not gonna tell her about how she's unfit to lead? How there are those that are better?" Kroc had no problem reminding him of what he'd said, disapproving of the dishonesty that came with his omissions. She'd always been of the belief that you had to face your problems too. Then again, the fact that she was a tank and mowed everything in her path down, including her problems? Well, that only helped her personal point of view. "If you're gonna talk shit to me, then you better have the balls to say it to the one you're talking shit about." That was her opinion anyway.

Tonravik listened to his words, listened to him speak of her late father. She bristled at his senselessness, and stared on at the eloquent man with much confusion. She had not the broad vocabulary he did, but she understood the very bare basics. Tonravik knew his words were not true, but this was the truth he knew. I do not. For Kroc had pledged fealty to Tartok long ago, and so too had Echelon; they were not new by any means, although Kroc was newer to her.

"Tartok grows. Only its number will change." This she said with plenty of pride, her eyes still upon him. "I would seek you all. Would you return?" For it was her eventual plan, to seek any with their name. Her eyes were watchful, now, wondering how he would meet this; Taltos would know it to be so, and also know that her claim here had been made not so long ago that it could not be disputed. And it was for the wolves that would question her claim she waited for; their question would cost their life. But Kroc spoke again, and Tonravik listened to her.

First, amusement (there could be none better) then, anger. "You speak ill of me," Came her eerily calm voice, her ears leaning forward, "to my wolves?" How coolly she spoke, how calm she seemed; her tone did not betray the true extent of her rage. It did not matter that he was wrong, and that she knew how wrong he was; Tonravik knew that none could rival her. She cared not for the opinion of sheep, and would lose no sleep over any ill spoken of her. But this was his betrayal to her, a betrayal that would cost him dearly; for the first and last time, his history with her bought him seconds, seconds to right this wrong, or perhaps seconds for him to dig himself deeper into his own grave. Tonravik was not gracious. He knew this of her, as all of Tartok would. He would know what to say, what not to say; the twitch of a muscle betrayed that how very thin a line he tread, and how thinner still her patience was.

short, sorry ;__;

the first woman snarled but lasher had his attentions trained solely upon tonravik. "yes. those who do not depart their wolves are more fit to lead than those who abandon." he was aware of her growing ire, and the wound upon his muzzle stung in a warning manner, but he stood his ground all the same, his eyes trained upon hers even as his hackles threatened to raise and display his remaining anger. 

fear roiled in his belly; he could die here, upon the slopes of this unforgiving mountain range, but he would not lie, nor would he apologize for that which he had spoken unto the savage female. yet his eyes asked her understanding, if not her forgiveness.

PERMISSION TO PP GIVEN :')

And those who would speak ill of their leader are unfit to follow. Vehemently, Tonravik lashed outward. He was wrong; she had not abandoned him, she had returned, and her words had been clear. Her heart beat was steady, smooth, thumpthump, thumpthump, and a foreleg wrapped around him to pull him to her breast, muzzle dipping to drape protectively over her throat as his ear cupped against the thick furs of her chest.

But he would hear it. He would hear its steady drumming. She could crush his head, here, but she did not, would not; she wanted him to listen. To know for certain. "I do not abandon. I was coming to you." There was no panic there, only certainty, and her heart, how it did not race as a liars would, would prove this. She had smelled him here, and had come to him now, the moment she had found him. The heartbeat was a soothing sound, and the witches heart beat stronger than any. She let him linger for a moment before releasing him and withdrawing. "Twice I was called to war, and twice, I have returned. I was here too short a time to call anyone to me, long ago, and now I am here again." Tonravik looked to him.

Shortshortshortsorry! <3

Tonravik heeded her words and despite the Alpha's calm voice, the pale wolf felt the anger that lurked there, much akin to her own. Those of Tartok knew that war could call them away and yet this one took it personally. How the hell didn't it click for him? Was he actually stupid? One of those retarded types who talked really pretty but had no fucking clue what they were talking about? Maybe he was just that self-centered. That was only confirmed when he opened his mouth again. 

She showed her teeth again, though made no other outward movement. The consequences of his words were not for Kroc to decide and she stood idly by, watching in case she was needed. 

tonravik leapt at him, and lasher flinched, chin tucking to chest. but her teeth did not raze his flesh; he was pulled into the dark plushness of her chest, and there he heard the steady beating of her warrior's heart. though it was quite foolish, the earthen servant relaxed somewhat in her embrace, listening to the cadence of her words as she spoke. 

when she had finished, and released him, he gazed steadily at her. siku was writ into much of her features; despite his ire, lasher felt himself softening toward the bear-woman. "perhaps i was wrong, tonravik. tartok held my heart for several years; i always felt as if siku was my aokatti." she had not chosen him for the role in the end, but taltos loved the witch all the same. "may i take my leave of you now?" the beta asked softly, his attention upon tonravik alone.  he wished time to think.

Feelings. He was the first of Tartok to express emotion, and Tonravik frowned. Of course it was emotion that caused this dispute. Emotion caused much turmoil; it was better not to feel. Tonravik even now reminded herself of this, and her hurt faded into nothingness. What did it matter? There was no battle to be had. When he murmured that perhaps he was wrong, she knew he understood that he was; there was no use in admitting it otherwise, but pride, foolish pride, would wedge that terrible "perhaps" into the words.

But she knew.

Tonravik took a step back, moving beside Kroc again. While there was none better than Siku, there would be one better for him to become his aokkatti; but it was an honor only to be received and bestowed when he was beneath her reign. Would he come to her again? He asks a question, asking her permission, and before she allows him to, her gruff voice sounds again. "Speak no more of me, Taltos. You know the laws, and you know the way; and I know you did not abandon, so I trust I have no need for your tongue." And as any that betrayed them, she would kill him if he disobeyed; she was here to reinforce their way, and had reprimanded him today to the point that he truly would understand his error. Her words were a pointed sword, sharpened and at the ready; she spoke less of his tongue and more of his life, for if he spoke ill of her again, or of Tartok, that would be his betrayal of her. Now that he knew, and had heard her heart, there was no disputing her words as truth. She left for no man or wolf, but for a bigger cause, a purpose.

It is then, after a long stare, she nods. Go.

She snorted as they spoke, but otherwise remained silent. Feelings were a fucking drag; they made wolves wishy-washy. Kroc operated without feelings (mostly), as though her mind was unable to process them. She could get angry of course, but farther than that, there was next to nothing. She did not love or become sad, nor did she mourn. Things were just that simple in her mind. 

The dark female stood beside her once more and Kroc yet remained the silent sentinel, one ear twisting to catch Tonravik's words. The threat that lay beneath her words was one that the pale tank would gladly enforce though she made no outward confirmation of this. Tonravik knew Kroc was loyal and would do what it took, and that was enough. Now, she would stand and watch the silver tongued wolf turn and escape their presence, waiting until he had gone to make any further move.

last post from me!

he accepted the thrust of her dart, lifting his head to look upon her face briefly before turning. lasher did not linger; he increased the cadence of his paws and departed them both, for a neutral location in which to recover from the pointed sting of tonravik's words.