Willow Ridge it doesn't matter what you call me

   

Had they been more companionable, she might have laughed at the counter question.  “Fair,” she acknowledged, brow raising.  There was a slight twinkling in her eye.  The white wolf, Hecate, she thought, had begun to stink of pregnancy, too.  Even more foolish than Wraith, that one.  What had she hoped to gain, save for an Archer of her own?  Did she think that would really land her a place among this mess?

Why would she even want it so?

“Curiosity, I suppose.  So many wolves – seems a bit exhausting.”  And foolish.  Capable was able to stay a shudder at the thought of breeding with so many different males – who knew how many cubs she’d come to bare with such nonsense?  Still, that wasn’t the only reason why she asked.  She tipped her head in his general direction, ears tipping forward.  “Wraith reeked of her.  Went on about loving the pups, not having ambition of leadership.” She grunted and rolled her eyes.  Still not certain if she should believe that, but he wasn’t about.  “Besides – a woman has to know what the others are up to.  Morganna’s womb isn’t her own anymore, not as alpha.  It’s about legacy.” Her grin could almost be called cruel as she shook her head.  There was nothing in the world that could convince her to wish for such a position herself.  Leadership didn’t mean freedom anymore that subordination did.  If anything, there were more chains keeping a wolf attached to the pack grounds.

“Wraith might not care, but.”  A shrug. “Bet not everyone else feels the same.  And I bet she’s not going to stand for that other idiot and her sperm donor.  Like I said.  A woman has to know.  If this shit is going to blow up – I’m not looking to get caught in the blast, not for legacies.”  

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

A wild dissertation appears!

The ice queen was starting to melt, as Capable actually conceded a point in an almost amicable way. With everything spoken so far, Craw determined that she was not very involved in the pack's politics (and her further words would only go on to reinforce that conclusion), and as she seemed to be responding best to a lighter touch, he resolved to continue in that fashion. Capable was not a wolf to be easily impressed, and Craw found himself wondering whether or not he would be able to thaw her further.

He listened to her with a straight face, though his eyes narrowed at the haughty mention of Wraith and her spoken - and unspoken - judgement about his motivations. Whatever the dark man had said, though, was eclipsed in intrigue as Capable went on to offer a glimpse of her worldview. Legacy, she said, as though it were an evil, dirty word, and he kept his expression forcibly neutral. Was that at the heart of the matter, that Morganna was female and thus had less right to her offspring? Had she ruled alongside an equally competent and powerful male, Craw would have agreed - not out loud, of course - but this situation was not so. And Craw had no deep set interest in Willow Ridge's legacy, so he was content to support Morganna in her continuation of it. Archer was her name, not his. This pack did not belong to him, as so many seemed intent on pointing out.

"Does that mean you intend on leaving now that the spring is coming?" he asked lightly. "Because I think it's clear to us all that the leadership is unsettled. Every day the divide is not bridged the pack risks chaos... It will come to a head sooner or later, especially with Morganna carrying on her legacy." He used the word pointedly, though not antagonistically, finding it to be a difficult area to tread without involving... personal opinions. Was it the concept she found repulsive in its entirety, or only when wielded by men?

Originally he had wanted to find out on which side Capable would fall, if any. Now he was beginning to wonder about the red woman for her own sake, as an entity totally separate from the rest.

“No,” she replied with a shrug, glancing back over with eyes narrowed only the slightest of fractions.  And if she was, she wasn’t foolish enough to reveal her paw so early, especially a wolf she could only trust as far as she could throw him.  “I did not take joining a pack lightly.  I wouldn’t have done so if only for shelter.  I see no reason yet to take my leave.  A woman has to always keep her eyes and ears open, but that doesn’t serve me if I bolt at any hint of danger.  Perhaps nothing will come to pass.”

Capable shrugged.  She didn’t particularly believe that prediction, but she would concede no wolf could read the future.  There was no guarantee that the pups would be born alive, or that the father (provided it wasn’t Wraith) wouldn’t know.  To try and outrun time was an idiot’s task.  She would let the chips fall as they may, and make an informed decision from there.

“I left my birth pack once I was relegated to take care of pups.  I won’t suffer that here, either.”  Not for someone else’s legacy, she thought bitterly.  It wasn’t the entire truth, but she had no reason to share the ugly nature of her relationship with her brother and the explosive fights that eventually detonated between them.  “So my intention is not to leave, but I am not afraid to do so if it is required of me.”  Ears flicked forwards and back, eventually settling somewhere flat.  “So – did Morganna send you to ask?  I find it difficult to imagine you’re simply curious about the welfare of the pack.”

That he supported the queen was not so subtle she’d missed it entirely, after all.

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

A wild dissertation appears!

She didn't join packs lightly, she said, and one corner of his mouth tightened in wry amusement. Capable didn't do anything lightly. Hearing her speak, Craw found that he recognised a lot of her manner of thinking, her reasoning, her logical processes; she did things as they benefited her, and if they were no longer in her best interests... my intention is not to leave, but I am not afraid to do so if it is required of me.

Required. What an unusual choice of words. Required by only her own sense of self-preservation and fulfillment, where others normally used the same phrasing to mean someone else required it of them. Perhaps it was a meaningless distinction to notice, and she meant nothing by it, but Craw found that the woman's way of expressing herself was incredibly revealing. She would not suffer to look after someone else's puppies, she saw no reason to leave yet, women have to keep their eyes and ears open - for men are impervious to danger and betrayal, is that what she meant? Just how damaged was she, to hold this subtly distorted view that came across in her more casual conversations, as though she were constantly under attack? Her tone and shrug when commenting that, perhaps, nothing dramatic would come to pass, was so unconvincing - and perhaps deliberately so - that he was surprised she was bothering to stick around at all when she so obviously believed otherwise.

Just why had she approached him that night, to offer her help? He could not see how it had benefited her. But, looking back, and remembering enough of his own abrasive manner at the time, it was no wonder that she disliked him so. Clearly Capable looked for threats and slights and the inexcusable assumption that she would be assigned undesirable duties.

And there it was, another thinly-veiled accusation, another demonstration that she trusted no-one to have anything other than good intentions. Even Morganna wasn't safe from her paranoia.

"No, it was my choice to approach you," he responded, manner still fairly light, any weighty concerns he had had when coming into this conversation rapidly dissolving; Capable was a fascinating wolf, but in her own right. Craw did not think that she would pose an issue regarding what was to come for the Ridge, and since that was his primary concern, he could relax. Whether or not the red woman continued to dislike him or would thaw further was irrelevant to the more pressing matters, so he put them aside, and focused instead on finding out more of what kind of wolf this Capable was.

"With Morganna likely to bear children, if you wish to avoid duties regarding their direct care, I'd advise telling her so. It would be a shame to force you into something you find... distasteful. She had mentioned you were interested in a guardian role, actually. I was going to ask if you wanted someone to train with, because believe it or not, the welfare of the pack is something I care about."

“Ah.”

He did not answer her query in entirety, though the woman could not expect him to reveal all his cards at first pass.  It was good enough for now, she supposed, though it did still leave some lingering questions.  If Craw was not the Queen’s personal ears and eyes, someone else was, though she did wonder who – Wraith was too emotional.  Or perhaps the woman didn’t have an extra set at all, and that was a curiosity in and of itself.  Women always had to watch out.  Her rank only held so much weight.

But then the white wolf came around, and Capable’s ears perked up in interest.  She couldn’t decide if she was displeased Morganna had been spreading her desires around, but left that for further rumination.  That her packmate was offering was – confusing.

“I do not find pups distasteful,” she felt the need to clarify, “only relegation and a leash.  I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I hold a bit more stock than your average woman.  To leave me as a babysitter wastes my greater assets.  There is so much more for me than laying around some whelping den.” There was something like a twinkle in those light brown eyes.  She tipped her head to one side. “Is this an invitation?  I accept.  Spring is coming.  It is time to get back into shape.”

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

(This post was last modified: Apr 15, 2016, 02:59 PM by Isuni.)

A wild dissertation appears!

Ah, so underneath that frigid exterior lay a well-tended ego, a clear notion of what was and wasn't good enough for her. Whether or not her sense of self-importance was justified was impossible to tell; that she was a skilled slayer of dangerous prey animals had been hinted at, certainly - you might even say she had been more than capable. Wasted in rearing offspring... Craw found it difficult to fathom, but as a male he was not expected to nurse and clean newborns as a butch was, so maybe that's what she meant. He could certainly think of no sweeter duty than to raise his own children. Maybe that was the rub - they weren't of her body. But to hear her talk, he doubted that she was soft at the idea of rearing her own flesh and blood, either. What a curious creature.

He was pleased when she accepted his offer, for it meant that his olive branch had been taken, however cautiously, and that he would have the opportunity to learn more of this enigmatic and prickly wolf. Whatever was to happen in the coming days, whatever state the pack was in come that fated sunrise, he had to continue to make plans beyond it. No matter what happened, Craw would make sure it worked for himself.

"I agree," he wheezed, regarding her carefully again for a moment, unable to help but wonder at the motivations behind those sealed-off eyes. "Thank you for stopping to talk with me, Capable. I look forward to jousting with you - it'll be pleasing to train with someone built like myself." He would definitely need some distraction from what was surely to happen at some point that day or night, and warming up with the swarthy Capable sounded satisfying. Perhaps he would seek her out tomorrow...

He hesitated for a moment, wanting to reach forward to touch her in some way, either to muzzle grab or press his nose to her cheek, the familiar ways in which he knew to convey solidarity and acceptance (not that he entirely felt them with her, more that he wanted to foster them) but decided that was entirely too risky. What delicate bridge they had just built would not survive any misstep. Instead, he settled for a simple, respectful incline of the head, and a step back, relinquishing to the red woman the rest of her personal space.

“I will see you soon.”

There was little else to be said, Capable reckoned, and allowed the older wolf a simple nod of her head.  If there first meeting had gone something more like this –  The female stopped herself there, well aware there was no use wasting her time on ‘what ifs’ and ‘could have beens’.  There was only the now in which she lived, and the future in which she would carry herself into.  As she’d mentioned, spring had come.  Pups would follow, but it was also a good time to get in shape – and perhaps seek out that position of guardian she’d mentioned earlier.

And with that, she turned and moved – she had been set on something before Craw had searched her out.  A hunt may not be wise with an impending training session, she supposed, but she could still fill her belly with something small.  Hunger could be slaked in other ways.

End.

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

A wild dissertation appears!