Gone Tomorrow

The snow was cold her paws, but the gray female kept moving. Around her the trees darted by, and she honestly took little notice of them. Her mind was racing, already second guessing her decision to break her life as a nomad and join up with the Swift River wolves. Packs were supposed to be stable, and she had stumbled onto a sibling rivalry so fierce that it would no doubt shake the pack's foundation. Where did that leave her then? She was the newcomer in this situation - hell, she had been a member of this pack for not even a day. But somehow, her arrival had set off an irreversible chain of events. Not that she knew the outcome yet, though she imagined that would come soon enough. One of the brothers would emerge victorious, one of them had to. There was only one leader in a pack.

Coming to a halt, Cori finally looked around her, taking in her surroundings. The trees all looked the same to her - covered with snow and rather insignificant looking. But other than that, it was white. Everywhere she looked, snow dominated the scenery. Though there was one exception. The tawny colored wolf ahead of her, silhouetted against the trees. Instinctively, Corinna knew who it was, and she moved forward, like a moth towards a flame. Even as she did so, she recognized the sound of his voice. He was calling for her. So at the very least, she had not been forgotten.

Lithe legs carried her forward swiftly, green eyes both welcoming and questioning. What had happened? Who had emerged victorious? Though, as she approached him, Cori took notice of his posture. This was not a defeated Indru. His tail and head were held high, and she noted with some pleasure the ease at which the posture came to him. This was a leader, born and bred. Closing the distance between them, the gray she wolf came up in front of him. Head extended, she burried her muzzle in the fur of his chest, seeking physical comfort. At the very least, he was a stable thing, his large body firmly beneath her touch. Drawing back, she looked up at him. "Indru..." she began, her tone giving away her curiosity. "Where did Ruiko go?" There was no need to ask who won; her leader was clearly defined.

Gone Tomorrow

The subordinate liked the way it felt, to be embraced by another warm being. Not that they were really embracing, but she was very much aware of the weight of his head as it rested on her own. They had both been through a lot today, and she reflected on what all had occurred in a matter of hours. Indru had found her laying in the snow, he had convinced her to come to Swift River, she had been accepted by Ruiko, and now here she was, seeking comfort from Indru who had taken advantage of her acceptance to challenge Ruiko's authority. That last thought was what was unnerving to Cori, and she took a step back, averting her eyes to look off into the snow, mind churning. She wasn't so conceited to believe that it was literally her who had set off the challenge, but rather the fact that Indru had brought her before Ruiko. Really, it could have happened with any new comer that Indru had decided to bring home...it just so happened that the fates had decided it would be her.

His voice registered, breaking through her thoughts, and she looked up, risking for a moment to break the displays of dominance and submission. She met his eyes. Traditionally, for a lower ranked wolf to look into the eyes of their superior would signify a challenge, but the rest of her posture, completely still and relaxed, hardly spoke of a challenge. She simply wanted to look and see if the tone present in his voice was reflected in those fiery orange eyes. And they were. Indru's uncertainty was mirrored in his eyes, and she could see within them the caring that he had for her as a member of his pack. Cori genuinely believed him, that he would protect her even if she decided to leave.

"Don't be silly, Indru," she finally replied, the hint of a smile playing about her black lips. "I met Ruiko before. It took me meeting you...properly...for me to decide to settle down in one place after traveling for months." Cori closed the distance between them again, this time mimicking the action she had done not too long ago to Ruiko. Pink tongue slipped out of her mouth, and she respectfully licked the chin of her new alpha as she had been taught to do when she was growing up. "You're my leader, Indru." And you always will be. Left unsaid, it didn't need to be spoken, he would see it when he looked into her green eyes that she was a loyal companion. Despite the current state of instability, she had faith that things would sort themselves out. They always did.

Gone Tomorrow

The warmth of his breath sent tingles up her spine as she waited for the light pressure he applied to her muzzle to let up. It was a weird feeling, being able to be physically close to somebody again. Which in the past couple of days, Cori had been exceptionally close to Indru. Every few minutes it seemed, they were touching, seeking reassurance from each others company. She had sought his reassurance at the borders, and now that he had ascended to his throne, she was there to reassure him that he had done what needed to be done. Which was true - after witnessing the tension in the air when Ruiko and Indru were both present, there was no doubt in her mind that eventually they would have had it out. "Home indeed," she agreed, nudging his shoulder with her muzzle. It had been her good fortune to have been invited to join by Indru rather than Ruiko, otherwise she would be bidding this place goodbye.

Her leader's sudden movements brought her out of her reverie, and Cori focused back on him rather than the scenery around them. His muzzle touched her neck; one of the most vulnerable places on her body. But Indru was not there to hurt her. He was merely scenting her. No doubt she smelled like the Blackberry Fields, where he had found her, as well as of pristine alpine trees, the kind that covered Relic Lore. Eventually those scents would fade, but they would be replaced by the scents of Indru and his family. The scents of her new home would replace those that had collected on her throughout her travels. "I'm glad to be here too," she murmured, tail wagging behind her. Craning her neck, she rested her own head on top of his for a moment. Breathing in, she started counting the scents that had been attacking her nose since the moment of her arrival. There were too many though, and she was honestly sure which ones were siblings and which were not. "I can. How many of your family members are here?" Cori asked him, wondering just how many brothers and sisters would make up her new pack mates. No doubt she would feel like an outsider for a while, until they became adjusted to her presence. That was the problem with wolf packs, they were all family based, and accepting newcomers into the fold always resulted in some awkwardness.

Drawing back, the she-wolf grinned mischevously and parted her lips. Sharp teeth tugged playfully on Indru's ear, and the growl that started in her throat echoed her playful nature. Letting go, she took a few steps away from him, skipping backwards. Rear-end rising into the air, she spanked her front paws on the snow. Lips parted wide in a grin, she flipped her ears back so they were flat against her skull. Behind her, gray tail wagged swiftly. Her gesture was clear. Let's play.

Gone Tomorrow

It had to be hard, she realized, watching Indru drop his regal head at her question. Cori had not meant to irritate his wound, it had been a purely innocent question. She hadn't gotten so far as to wonder if Ruiko would take some of the family with him, wherever he decided to go. She had just naturally assumed that they would stay here, with Indru. He was the leader after all, and it had been Ruiko's decision to leave. But she stopped herself; she honestly didn't know what the situation was with the Tainns, though the loner she lived among them the more she would learn. "I'm sorry Indru. I think you'll find that the majority of them stay, though. And, if not, then you're still family, no matter what." The gray female had left her family behind as well, and she still considered them family. Distance made things difficult, but one's blood was not theirs to choose.

Grin widened across her pretty features as Indru reacted to her playful gesture. There had been no physical hesitation in her action, but after the fact, she had begun to wonder if he would retaliate in a way that she wanted. The hidden scar on her left shoulder was a testament to how ferocious her alpha could be when he was not in the mood for games. But it seemed that today he was in a playful mood, despite everything else, and while his posture did not lose its self control, he also dropped down. "So the leader knows how to play, does he?" she goaded, her tone playfully sarcastic, gray tail wagging rapidly behind her. It was all in good jest, and his own playful bark as he leaped towards her indicated that he knew her meaning was far from malicious.

Indru's large body sprang towards her, and the female reared up herself. Forelimbs batting the air as if she was a boxer, she felt their bodies collide in the air, their limbs interlocking. They stood there for a moment, and the subordinate wrinkled her brow at Indru in a mock growl. But she couldn't stand up on her hind legs for long (she was a four legged creature for a reason, after all), and Indru's superior weight pushed her to the ground with ease. The tackle knocked her onto her side, Indru's forelimbs pushing down on her shoulder now. Tail wagging, she reached upwards, teeth seeking out the soft skin of the leader's ear. Though this time he was out of reach, and Cori resorted to trying to wiggle out from underneath him, paws kicking the snow earnestly as she futilely attempted to escape. "I think you win. This time." She told him, head falling back in the snow in resignation, the smile on her lips counteracting the seriousness of her tone. This was the company Corinna had been missing, and she was happy to have found it here in Swift River.

Gone Tomorrow

It was the second time in such a short period that she had felt the warm breath of her leader on her muzzle. Indru gripped her muzzle, showing her that once again he had come out on top. Cori didn't mind it so much, there was no shame in being a lower ranked wolf. Not all wolves were born to be leaders; if they were, then the pack system would simply not work. So no, she was more than content to cede defeat. Maybe one day she would actually win a play challenge, but she doubted it. Indru would always be larger than the mottled brown and gray female. Still, the fun came in trying, and she was willing to try so long as she was a part of this pack. "We shall see, Indru, we shall see," she whispered back, gray tail beating happily against the snow.

Light bark escaped from the she-wolf's vocals as he flicked a layer of snow upon her. She immediately rose to her feet and shook her body violently, clearing her winter coat of the white powder. Cori wasn't particularly affected by the snow, but she wasn't a fan of being covered with the stuff. Finished shaking, the she-wolf lowered herself into a play position once more, but this time she leaned backwards, feeling the satisfying stretch in her back as she shifted upwards again. Coming to rest on her slim creme haunches, the subordinate met her leader's gaze. His orange eyes were brilliant, and while orange was a common color among their kind, there was a certain fire behind his that was seemingly lacking in other orange-eyed wolves she had met in her travels. But the she-wolf broke the eye contact after a few moments, knowing full well that to look directly into the eyes of a superior was to challenge their authority. Not that she posed too much of a threat to Indru, but she had ruffled his feathers once and Cori had come out on the losing end of that as well. "Now what, Indru? Is there any basic information I should know about Swift River? A New Joiner Orientation?" She chuckled, though behind the laughter was an intentional question. It had been so long since had been a part of a pack and every pack was different, she didn't want to disappoint her new family.