Drooping Willows how the mighty fall in love

OOC: I always imagined the Archers like Lannisters kekeke

IC: As names and titles flew freely, Mace committed them all to memory, along with the mental snapshot of each adolescent's face. These wolves would one day be his enemies or allies. With so many packs side by side, the Lore was more like a collection of keeps and lands than a mystic forest... And knowing who you were up against was as handy as knowing who stood by your side. Presently these wolves were nothing more than teens flaunting their births, but one day they would be capable, dangerous adult wolves.

He categorized them as they went: Titan was as noble in bearing as himself, and ambitious to boot. Malia and Yuka were his siblings, evidently, but both seemed meeker... Neither claimed their titles openly, suggesting to Mace that they weren't necessarily as interested in status as their older brother, or Mace himself. Of the four, the one he labeled most well raised was Asriel, who was the only one to catch on to Mace's deceptive wording. He was clearly being groomed for leadership, and had the wits to achieve it, Mace reckoned.

That made him the one to watch. Mace knew how all the games worked; keeping enemies close at hand was good, and Asriel had the potential to be a formidable wolf, enemy or ally. "First born prince of Darkwater Rapids," he said pointedly, his gaze weighing longest on the one who'd asked, "now Cut Rock River." He fell silent then, for a new form of tension bubbled between them: the scent of deer on the wind.

Mace knew better than to initiate a hunt. He was a terrible hunter. Titan, however, had other plans... Plans which the tawny boy with the dark mask, Yuka, instantly spoke against. Malia seemed less direct in her refusal, simply claiming not to be hungry enough to hunt, as if two half-grown wolves could take down a deer. Asriel seemed most worked up, however, and flaunted himself in a threatening manner toward Titan, which Mace silently agreed with, but verbally did not. "The swiftest win no matter which pack fancies itself most entitled to unclaimed land," he stated, but then directed his words to Titan. "I would suggest against hunting a deer. Acting a wolf grown does not make a wolf grown."

And, Mace knew, not even two wolves grown were guaranteed to outwit a deer if it was healthy. To Malia, he softly answered, "two sisters: Quil and Cinder." As for Rowan, well, nobody knew whether he was dead or alive... Perhaps he would return one day to enlighten them all.

(This post was last modified: Dec 30, 2013, 01:21 PM by Mace.)

gorgeous set by kydnt

He had only half heard Mace's introduction. He had been within Cut Rock River pack for only a short time. Unfortunately for him either the pack didn't want to socialize with the Thorben child or he simply never came across any of the pack while Titan stayed there. He was distracted only in the slightest by hearing that Mace was from Maksim's pack. It was when the other prince spoke that the dark blue eyed boy became totally distracted.

Titan snarled as Asriel warned him not to hunt. Whipping his head around to glare at his own brother and the Willow prince Titan breathed deeply releasing that snarl and forcing his muzzle and hackles flat again. He was angry that Asriel would even try to tell him what to do when this was obviously not his land. As for Yuka, Titan wasn't sure why his brother would be so against him trying to start a hunt. He angled himself to face the others once more as Malia declined his offer to hunt with him. He and his siblings had never been on a real deer hunt before. So Titan was ignorant to the grazing animals power. He wouldn't know that they would very likely injure or kill them if they tried hunting the herd.

Glaring at Asriel still Titan was about to speak up when Mace intervened. His words, if anything, calmed the dark Thorben boy more since he now knew that someone else was thinking the same thing.

"The swiftest win no matter which pack fancies itself most entitled to unclaimed land,"

"Exactly." Titan agreed with Mace even throwing a nod in the Attaya boy's direction. He pulled his tail down once more to neutral after realizing it had been steadily raising upwards in offense to Asriel's words. Though Mace's second comment earned a bit of annoyance from the silver misted boy. At least he isn't outright saying "NO DON'T DO THAT!" Titan thought quietly looking over Mace a little more acutely. This prince at least seemed respectable.

"You know Maksim then?" He cast the friendly question in Mace's direction then glanced to Yuka and Malia. "When I was lost Maksim's pack Cut Rock River kept me safe till Minka got me. Maksim is a good male. " He explained after realizing his siblings would have no idea who he was talking about.

WHISPER Caverns

Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Accept no defeat, surrender retreat...

Asriel was quite irritated when the two other boys decided that they would hunt. For once he found himself taking more of an interest- in a positive way- in Malia, who seemed to know better than to hunt. Hunting deer? Even Asriel, who was quite proud and knew that he felt too invincible for his own good sometimes knew that bringing down a deer would be a ridiculous hazard for those who were too young and inexperienced to do so. Act like adults? He felt more mature not hunting so close to another pack's borders and not risking his own life and energy. He looked to Mace and then to Titan- since they'd decided to pal together, and he decided that he would not join them. Malia had said that she wasn't hungry, and if she wasn't going to join in the hunt, their chances were made even worse. Yuka seemed to timid to hunt so close to the pack's borders as well, so he took power in knowing that at least two of these wolves had a brain inside their skulls. He sniffed lightly, an indication that he wasn't about to go running wrecklessly after deer either, since their chances of catching something- even if they'd been adults- was slim. Two wolves against a herd of deer? Not a sure bet. Two pups trying to bring down a deer, and in the winter time? A waste of energy.<p>

"Knock yourselves out, then. Just mind the pack's boundaries...And try not to get yourselves killed," He said, his tone turning into a hiss. He made eye contact with Titan and then Mace for a moment, and then calmed his gaze as he looked back toward Yuka, a mild look of gratitude on his features, and to Malia, who'd earned a somewhat surprised look which was still much more neutral than anything she'd ever won from him before. Maybe she wasn't so bad, after all. At least she was smart. "I have a brother and a sister; Skoll and Morganna." He said in a calm voice. "Have you met them?" He asked, for once becoming the civil prince his mother would have wanted him to be. <p><p>

Turning his attention to the les infuriating pups in the gathering, Asriel ignored those who threatened him. The other boys were too proud for their own good- but Asriel was too. Eventually, they would separate and each go their own way, and Asriel once again left with new impressions of those he'd bumped into once again, and those who were new to him.
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(This post was last modified: Feb 21, 2014, 06:40 PM by Asriel.)