Wild Cherry Orchard Long Awaited Introduction

	"Kanosak breathed in deeply. It was rare that he got a chance to get away anymore with all of his new found responsibilities. The entire time he had been alone all he wanted was to find a pack and now he had one he almost craved the freedom. It was completely by chance that he stumbled across the snow covered orchard and caught a familiar scent. It was one he knew but was yet to put a face to. Must be Kinis... he thought to himself as he looked around. He had met all of his other pack mates, if only briefly in the case of Volkan. He almost felt like the younger wolf was avoiding him. He decided it was time to face the music. He continued to sniff the air and ground as he wandered, keeping in the general direction of the youger wolf's scent until finally a tawny form came into view. The wolf was smaller than Ruiko, but had very similar colouring. He continued on his course towards the younger wolf, taking neither a dominant nor submissive stance. By rights the yearling had been acting in the role Kanosak had now assumed from the very forming of the pack and he held great respect for such a young wolf stepping into such a big role. The golden furred wolf took a seat a short distance from the younger male, inhaling the scent of pack and Kinis's own unique scent. Golden eyes met amber and Kano attempted a smile. "I got the feeling you were avoiding me Kinis."

<blockquote>It was satisfying, occupying himself with food gathering and scouting. Certainly, it was the way in which his time was best spent; while it had just been the four of them, their mutual need had been greater. With the slow growth of the pack... Things had changed. Whereas Kinis had been proud of his brother for his successful recruitment, one unhappy side-effect of the whole thing had been the swift and automatic shunt in ranks. Kinis was not arrogant, nor ignorant, and knew that he was technically too young to hold the Second position. But while he had been content to sit at the bottom of the ranks in Swift River, and indeed would forever be happy to place below his brother, something about being shifted down in his and Ruiko's pack just rubbed him up the wrong way.

It brought about unpleasant notions of where he wanted to be, and whether dominance was important to him, and whether... no, he could not. Or could he? It would go against all he was, but challenging for the position once he was old enough...

To be honest, the boy was more likely to just wait for Kanosak to die or disappear before such a thing happened. At the very least, he would strive to never fall below the Third spot.

{INDENT}In a way, he had been avoiding the pack's Second. It was all too easy to busy himself with other things than deal with his personal dilemma; it was definitely more important for all of their survival. His problems were selfish and wasted time. But he could not escape this day forever; Kanosak found him, eventually, as he took a moment to relax one day, and while some unheard-of part of the Tainn boy growled in distaste at the male, Kinis knew that he had nothing to be angry for. Another wolf to the pack was another point to their survival; to complain was unbelievably petty. Thus he greeted his superior with a smile and obliging dip of the head, aware that the male was pleasant but otherwise ignorant to his manner. It really had been foolish to avoid him like this.chow much submission would he require?

<b>"I'm sorry,"</b> he sai, trying not to cringe at what sounded like an accusation... Because he felt guilty enough about it. <b>"I've just been trying to keep busy. Was there... was there anything you needed of me?"</b> Bitter as he was, Kinis would obey.</blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

	Reluctance was written all over the younger wolfs face, and Kano smiled genuinely, making no attempts at asserting his dominance nor appearing submissive. He was a laid back wolf and thought there was no reason for obvious displays of rank when among those he now called family. "No. I just thought it was time we met." He could already tell he would like the younger wolf, and the truth of it was, he could see a journey quickly approaching. He wanted to be well familiarised with all of his pack mates before he went tramping across the countryside in search of knowledge. He had never intended to become a healer, nor step into any position of rank, but at the moment he was the closest thing they had, and he didn't know nearly enough. "Have you met Kashikoi yet?" he questioned, they were of a similar age and he thought it would be nice if both of them had a chance to remember their ages and do the things young wolves (and he on occassion) still did. "He's ok for a Scrap. Could do with a bit more practice hunting...maybe you could give him some pointers?" It was important that he still felt valuable, as no doubt he would be, if everything fell into place Kano would be absent for as long as it took to learn what he needed to know.

<blockquote>Kinis relaxed marginally as he realised that Kanosak wasn't out for his submission, though it would have been swiftly given. Kinis huffed once in agreement to the gentle statement; yes, it was probably about time that they met. This was Kinis' pack, after all... though in some ways, it didn't feel like it; perhaps it was the hype which had gotten to him, but something felt strange. Maybe he felt a little lost without the drive that this pack had represented.

Surely... surely he would not saying that he was not happy with this.

<b>"No, not yet,"</b> he confessed, almost with a grimace; what kind of pack member was he? Averting his eyes for a moment as shame washed through them, he tried to repress the weakness he felt and looked back to Kanosak, his amiable superior, and forced a smile.

<b>"That sounds like a good idea, though I'm sure he'd know more than me."</b> That brought a genuine laugh from him, at least; Kinis' age was his own curse, as the nature of this very meeting testified. <b>"I've kinda been used to hunting on my own for a while. I suppose with larger game roaming about again in the spring, we should get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Do you like it here?"</b> The question nearly came out of no-where, an unexpected burst of curiosity which he had barely seen coming himself. Perhaps he needed validation, confirmation that this was everything they had wanted. Kinis had let them all down, and his prior enthusiasm had been his downfall; he felt like nothing could have lived up to his high expectations, and yet... Copper Rock Creek, it pretty much did.</blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

<blockquote>Kanosak smiled at the young male before him. He almost seemed let down somehow. He wasn't exactly sure how to alleviate the conflict he could see on the younger males face, but was relieved when the conversation continued to small talk.

<b>"Yes, I enjoy it here very much. I joined with Wille, I think you would like her too. And I met Rebecca when we were both loners."</b> he smiled at the memories that were flooding back to him. It had been such a short time ago, and yet he felt as if it was a lifetime ago, just a distant memory like his memories of his birth pack. It was amazing how time flew when you found yourself happy.

<b>"What about you Kinis? Do you have any aspirations? A role you would like to learn?"</b> he questioned, hoping to receive some insight into the younger males interests. He could easily be a hunter or a guardian, but you could never base someones interests on their build.

He was itching to bow down playfully but wasn't sure this was yet the time. He needed to perk the youngster up a little first or he would merely look away from the invitation to play, or at least that had been his experience when youngsters were feeling unappreciated in the past.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Wille, Rebecca... names he knew - the latter in particular - and scents he could pinpoint, but that didn't mean he really knew them. Still, thought it was another reminder of his lack of diligence in the matter, he appreciated Kanosak's sentiment, and found himself liking the male even more. It was hard not to; he was so amiable and straightforward.

His ears twisted slowly forwards as the Second turned questions on him, his eyes widening slightly. Asp... aspirations? Now that he came to think of it... This pack's formation had been his aspiration. His dream, one true goal. So now what? With a harsh, cold sensation in his gut, he realised that he had no real goals anymore. Did wanting to serve Ruiko until he died count?

<b>"Erm..."</b> he muttered, shocked by the stark realisation. Normally it may not have affected him, but to be so driven one moment and then static the next... he had thought this to be the next chapter, not the end. <b>"I don't... really know yet. I mean, this has been what I've wanted for... what feels like forever."</b> he laughed, a little nervously, conscious of his own stagnation. <b>"I suppose I've only ever wanted to do what Ruiko needs of me. I'm not really that talented, but I enjoy hunting, and scouting."</b> If patrolling counted as scouting; he hadn't been outside the parklands much at all. But at least those were two things, small and generic as they were. To try and distract from his shortcomings, he cleared his throat quietly, focusing on Kanosak again. <b>"What about you? Anything you want tone?"</b></blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

<blockquote>Hunting and guarding. Two tasks he was sure the young male was likely to succeed in and both necessary for the survival and security of the pack. When asked about his own aspirations an embarrassed grin crossed his face. <b>"I hope to learn to heal... better than what I currently understand."</b> As a younger wolf he had often referred to herbs and healing as woman's work and detested the fact his grandmother forced him to endure the lessons with his sisters and brother.

<b>"As a younger wolf I thought it ridiculous that I would ever need such skills so I squandered the offered teachings, but Rebecca almost died. She was attacked by a cougar and the wounds festered. Thankfully she pulled through, but I think it was more of her own stubborn nature than anything I provided..."</b> he admitted openly to the younger wolf. His poultice had been rough at best, and he had almost lost his meal when attempting to drain her wounds. <b>"Everyone serves a purpose in a pack, sometimes we just need a little push in the right direction."</b> he said more to himself than the younger wolf.

This was heavy talk and he had a desire to turn to lighter subjects. <b>"So what is the most dangerous game you have hunted so far?"</b> he asked with an interested spark in his eye. He had caught the scent of bore earlier but didn't have anyone to help him pull the beast down at the time. If the younger wolf was game, the caches could always use topping up.</blockquote>

<blockquote>To heal! Kinis had never even considered the notion, for it had not been one of his focuses in childhood, nor had he been exposed to such. And to think he didn't even know that Copper Rock had a healer... well, at least he did now. He smiled at the honesty, dismissing the embarrassment on Kanosak's face; it was certainly nothing to be shamed about. It was quite an admirable desire, really, and Kinis wished he could lay claim to anything so worthy.

And... Rebecca almost died? Just how much had he missed in his reclusiveness? Kinis' eyes widened as he listened, recalling the girl with a curious fondness, sad that he had not seen her - or sought her out - since she had joined. At least she was okay. Perhaps he should go and see her, talk to her again. But just as Kinis' mind was beginning to distract him, Kanosak came out with a brief pearl of wisdom, and again Kinis felt guilt. But either the older wolf sensed it, or simply desired a change in topic, for an unrelated question was abruptly posed.

The different direction threw Kinis for a bit, but then he suddenly laughed, the question pleasingly easy to answer. <b>"I suppose boar,"</b> he said, a little easier than his manner before - it was definitely a lighter subject. <b>"But that was with my family. On my own, I took on a porcupine once - I still have one of its spines?I kinda like keeping momentos like that. Would you like to see it?"</b> It was a bit of silly honesty he may not have divulged had it not been for Kanosak's endearing friendliness, but Kinis felt that the older wolf deserved to have something given back in the conversation. </blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

<blockquote>Boar had been a staple food when he was growing up so he could appreciate the danger involved in hunting one, but a porcupine? <b>"I would like to see that. How did it taste?"</b> he questioned playfully. His smallest sister had succeeded in such a hunt once, but it was not something he was likely to chase after having collected several quills in his lip as a yearling. Ani was far more dexterous than her older, larger siblings, and she had speed they lacked too. <b>"The closest I ever got was catching a few spines in my lip, one went right through..."</b> he admitted with a grimace. It had not been a comfortable experience, and made it difficult to eat for a few weeks until it healed. He had lost a significant amount of weight.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Kinis smiled when Kano showed interest, pleased to have been able to contribute to the conversation at last. <b>"Not that different to other rodents, really,"</b> he said, turning about and heading back in the direction of Copper Rock. <b>"Just more of it. Unless you could the satisfaction of actually defeating it,"</b> he grinned, and laughed at Kanosak's anecdote. <b>"Yeah, that's definitely a hazard... I got a noseful of holes before the end. But it was so worth it.</b>

<b>"What about you?"</b> he asked, enjoying this topic.[/B]</blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>