New Places, Old Problems

[Hrothgar and Pack]

___The dense black fur of Rancor's neck tickled the roof of his mouth as Hrothgar disciplined his subordinate, growl rattling out between teeth pressed to the male's throat. Rolled into his side with his tail tucked and ears drooping, Rancor had anger in his eyes nonetheless. The indignity of it all! First usurped by some newcomer from his tank and alpha, and now denied mating with his own beloved Khaeryne? He shouldn't have expected anything different, of course, but it was still frustrating, infuriating! Eyes rolled back, he watched her stand at a distance, head down and eyes apologetic. Apologizing, for getting affectionate with her own mate during mating season - that cut like nothing else. Letting out a whine directed towards her but perceived by Hrothgar as full submission, Rancor rolled onto his belly and stayed there for a long moment when the alpha released his hold.
___"It's not as though I like doing this, you know," growled Hrothgar, ears flicked back and genuinely meaning it as he glowered at the subordinate. "If you could have a bit of restraint, it would make my life a much easier." He turned, padding off in the direction of the creek with snow crunching beneath the weight of his paws. The mountains were a harsher landscape than the peaks of their old home in Gallop Free, but the lesser wolf population still left even the desolate terrain more abundant in food sources and free territory. They would have to hunt soon nonetheless - he could feel a storm coming in the weight of the air and the presence of clouds hanging so low that it seemed the mountain tops might lance their gravid bellies.
___In fact, he fancied that he might enjoy some help scoping out the local bighorn to prepare for a hunt later that night when the herds were hunkered down in rest. He looked over his shoulder to Rancor and Khaeryne, who were both glaring spite in his direction. He sighed heavily, sniffing the air for Hsiga or Bhari reluctantly. He didn't want to bring them along, still being young and inexperienced at true stealth. It was, after all, only their second winter, their first as functional members of a pack. Too often, the temptation to cavort in the snow took precedence over duty - indeed, that was probably what they were up to right now, for his fine nose detected that they were off at the fringes of their territory. Useless, he thought, shaking his head. What was I thinking, taking over an established pack?
___ Ah, but wait - their was one interloper like himself among their ranks. Shizuka had surprisingly remained with the group during the move, and he had grown to enjoy her awkward company over time. Perhaps she would be interested in some diversion in the form of quiet stalking; she was fairly quiet, after all, with her reluctance to speak for fear of making a fool of herself. Unfortunately, a strong wind muddled his ability to sniff her out, so he raised his muzzle skywards and let out a long, questioning howl, hoping she would be nearby and responsive.

((Full of fail, sorry. I'm rusty on wolves))

[Shizuka]

There was a lot of tension in this pack. What impressed her was that she had somehow managed to not only avoid most of it, but rise in the ranks in the meantime.

Hrothgar had taken over the pack; that she had known through scent when she had first crawled her way up, exhausted and in need of a drink. Thus, she wasn't overly surprised at the tension that permeated the pack. She knew who the old alphas were both by their scent matching old borders and the way they obviously desired to lick at old wounds. They had a qualm with Hrothgar, and despite his leadership and successful moving to new territory, did not want to let this qualm go.

Would she be any different? The idea of some strange wolf taking over her pack made her bristle. But then, as she rose from her resting spot in the shade of a large tree bold enough to grow in the mountains, she contemplated that if the wolf had beaten her, they probably deserved the pack better than she. No, she would not hold a grudge for so long. She'd be too busy nursing her own hurt pride.

The female's musings were cut off by a loud howl, Hrothgar's, requesting her, out of all wolves. Shizuka's head snapped in the direction of the howl, and she scented the air, the wind in her favor. She scented Hrothgar, of course, but she could also smell near him Rancor and Khaeryne, and the scent of hormones and heat. The paired couple was at it, then, or trying to before the alpha intervened. She wondered what exactly Hrothgar wanted her for, then. Her small size didn't exactly suit her for breaking up arguments, let alone a couple.

Still, he had called her, and seeing as Shizuka wasn't doing anything but thinking -- a bad habit -- she howled back a response and set off. The territory gave her bad footing, but food and water had given her back what little strength she had, and the small female was learning how to properly walk across the icy ground. She only slipped a few times as she made her way over to the creek, where she scented -- and soon saw -- Hrothgar. In the distance, she could see Khaeryne and Rancor -- both subordinate to her -- glaring at the alpha.

She dipped her head at them and did nothing more to acknowledge them. She didn't especially care if that angered them further or not; Hrothgar was her concern, not bitter ousted alphas. She looked over at him, tail swaying and ears perked, then her eyes flickered to the mates and she smiled knowingly, tail wagging. Her wordless way of saying "Hello, having fun over here?"

She still didn't trust herself to speak, even after Hrothgar did not seem to mind her slow, stuttering speech. Especially not near subordinates who were already grumpy, and may take advantage of her stutters to make a challenge. Just to irke them all further. Thus, unless it was absolutely necessary, she would save speech until they were away from Rancor and Khaeryne, where they would not overhear her stuttering, trailing off, and occasional combining of sentences in ways that were entirely nonsensical.

((I forgot how much I love this character. "Psh. Stupid subordinates. They need to get a grip." I have so few characters who honestly think such things. xD ))

[Hrothgar]

((She is a seriously cool character. And I think she and Hrothgar are two of the only "traditional" wolves at Animatus in the sense of mostly adhering to social behaviors, hehe.))

___Hrothgar waited patiently for Shizuka to arrive. He knew that traversing the treacherous, icy slopes was not easy for the female, who seemed to have persistent issues with ataxia. She had improved dramatically since the day he'd found her dehydrated and barely clawing her way up Gallop Free's comparatively tame ascents, no doubt. But she still moved slowly, carefully, and a bit clumsily. This was fine by him; as long as she was not burdensome during hunts, which she had not proven to be, he could tolerate the odd stumble or having to wait up. Indeed, among all the wolves in the pack, he found her presence the most comfortable, and often dearly wished that Rancor and Khaeryne shared her penchant for silence.
___Shortly the vix arrived amid the short, scrubby trees and jagged erratics that characterized their new territory. She seemed to immediately notice the tension in the group; who couldn't? A snake and a rat holed up in the same burrow would probably be more amicable than these two past alphas were with him. It seemed terribly petty on their part, in his eyes. Sure, it was upsetting to be bested in dominance and battle alike, but any wolf with a steady head on his shoulders accepted dominance structure and understood that working with it rather than against it benefited the pack as a whole. Hrothgar suspected these two yielded from dysfunctional roots, and could not have been more correct; Khaeryne was one of Raze's wolves, and Rancor one of Khahirre's.
___With a knowing smile, Shizuka gave her own version of a greeting. He'd noticed that she rarely spoke before the other wolves, but this too was fine. Body language was doubtless more important, and she perfectly conveyed her slight amusement and mutual exasperation with the former alpha pair. He grinned back, tension momentarily relieved by one face among the pack that wasn't glaring or snarling his direction. Ears perked, he shifted his gaze to the peaks above them, the mountain sloping steeply upwards towards terrain less friendly than that they already inhabited. He almost felt badly calling her along for this, knowing that it couldn't be easy, but it seemed practice was benefiting her slowly over time.
___"I would like to scout the area for bighorn; we need to hunt soon. Accompany me." It was an order, sure, but there was no arrogance or force behind the words - simply those of an alpha expecting happy obedience from his underlings. He did not wait for a response, but immediately started walking, though his steps were deliberately slow to accommodate his companion.

((You know, much to my amusement, his pic does look genuinely exasperated.))

[Breeze]

((You mean, we may actually have some fairly normal wolves? Gasp! Go figure it's my wolf who is more or less crippled. Heh))

Shizuka said nothing, did not even look Hrothgar in the eyes as she waited for him to speak. She was not a submissive creature at heart, no; she just knew her place in the pack, and knew that even if she was dominant and somehow rising in the pack, she still had to be respectful. Something the subordinate couple nearby did not seem to understand. She did not think it that difficult to calm one's dominance, just a little, for the sake of the pack.

Then she saw him grin, and Shizuka made fleeting eye contact, wagging her tail to acknowledge his understanding. Ah, mating season; what could be more exciting in a tense pack that was recently taken over by a new leader? Another thing she wondered about; was the urge to mate really that difficult to resist? She supposed this was one thing she didn't really have enough experience to contemplate. She didn't desire a mate, not when she was still too busy getting used to herself.

Ah, thinking too much again. Her thoughts truly did move too fast, leading her to tangents and ideas that were ultimately useless in the real world. With an amused smile at herself, Shizuka turned her attention to Hrothgar's command. Well, hm. She wasn't exactly the type of wolf suited to climbing up icy slopes and hunting sheep, but she did have a decent nose and eye for detail. Besides, her alpha gave her a command, and it was her duty to follow it.

However, she noticed that he was purposely walking slowly. That wouldn't do. In her mind, they should go as quickly as possible, get the scouting overwith. She shouldn't slow them down. So the female picked up her pace, tried to go at a normal speed... And with incredibly grace slipped on an icy patch and fell, smacking her jaw against the ground.

Well, that was stupid. Growling at herself and her stupid pride, Shizuka pulled herself carefully to her feet and followed Hrothgar, this time at her normal pace. However, her slightly back ears and bristled nape hinted that the female was, as usual, annoyed with her body's inability to follow her own wishes.