A King's Pride

A cool September breeze combed through his thick copper fur, sending an invigorating chill down the lithe curve of his spine. He hated days like these; peaceful days, quiet days - they made him feel edgy. Frustrated. It was like the calm before the storm, it was misleading to his senses - making him feel content and relaxed and safe when actually he knew that it was just the silence that lingered just before the sharp strike of a knife. Peace was not real, it was simply imagined. If you wanted wanted enough, your mind would begin to find it. Like love: that was a fools fate. There was no love in the world, just desire. Black nostrils snorted in abhorrence. How pathetic could they get? There was only one soul in life that you could truly trust - yourself. Because no matter how hard you tried, you would never be able to run away from who you really were. The only way to live was to embrace your natural instinct and live by your own heart - and that was exactly what Drustan intended to do. His muscles rippled beneath his pale skin, working hard to maintain his grace and balance as he began to scale the large mountain before him. It had been both instinct and desire that had brought him to its rocky slopes, intrigued by its presence and enticed by its grand heights above the rest of the land. It simply stood out to him; it was a natural display of power and dominance. Nothing could match its towering heights and it stood strong and rock-hard to the core. Cold golden eyes flickered along the sharp ridges of the mountain as he climbed, taking notice of the varying size of rock and slate. It was a death-trap should any of those large boulders fall loose. A grin of dark humour slipped across his onyx lips. He had better keep his wits about him then. Passing one impressively large boulder, the scent of urine hit him. It seemed his exploration was to be hindered - for the territory was obviously claimed. His ears swivelled atop his head in irritation. The things he had to do just to satisfy his boyish cravings. Lowering his head, he took a few long sniffs of the scent marks before glancing around. They weren't fresh. It seemed he was unlucky and there would be no one near by. He could chance it, taking an illegal trip across claimed land. Or he could call for the alpha and ask his permission. His tail swayed idly behind him - his brows contorting into an expression of mild thought. Whilst he was tempted to trespass, he also had a desire to meet this Alpha. A man that could claim such grand mountains had to be equally grand himself - Drustan now promptly decided that he would take it upon himself to see if this Alpha was up to the job. A devilish glint now present in his gaze, he craned his head upwards and parted his lips as he howled solely for the alpha. He didn't want to mingle with the commoners, they would be too much hassle - no, he wanted to see the big man himself. "Ooouuuuuuuuh!"

What is Wisdom?

Overnight it seemed like the pack had begun to flourish; the traces of the old females replaced with that of a mix of new wolves who had come to join Honijo on his mountain home. That suited the old male just fine; he was content to live on his own if need be, but he appreciated the company that came with being a part of a pack. That was just how he had been raised. Plus, it made the separation from his blood family, the Tainn's, easier to handle. If he was beginning to thrive and move on past the tragedy that had afflicted him for some time, then surely they were beginning to as well.

The pack's revival had meant Honijo was particularly aware of his borders. In the days that he had been on his own, he had been content with letting his borders go unmarked every couple of days. But now that he had what was beginning to resemble a pack, he wanted to change that impression. So, starting at the western tip of his territory, the Leader had traveled clockwise, covering up his old scent markings with new ones.

He was now nearing the last section he had yet to cover. And it was from that part that the howl came from. An unknown voice, calling for the leader of the pack. Grunting, the leader stopped what he was doing (urinating on a tree), and moved in that direction, breaking into the easy gait that could carry him miles without tiringi his old bones.

It didn't take long to cover the distance, and Honijo was pleased to see that the caller had not trespassed beyond the marked borders, regardless of how faint they might be. Slowing to a walk, the alpha padded forward, head and tail raising in dominance as he did so. Breathing in deeply, he assessed the information given away in the stranger's scent - a young male. Great, exactly what Honijo needed. Striding forward, the leader stopped on his side of the border. He stayed quiet; his position gave away who he had to be, and this lone wolf had requested him.

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The soft thud of approaching footsteps caught Drustan's attention. His tan-orange eyes flicked upright as his head turned gingerly to one side towards the sound of movement. Unsurprisingly, he caught sight of a figure moving towards him. Golden eyes watched with careful interest at the large, dark coloured wolf that approached him. Sniffing the air, black nostrils flared as he inhaled the scent that lingered on the breeze. Male - and most definitely Alpha, the scent of heart and liver stung his nose. Now aware that this male was the alpha, he dropped his gaze a little, though occasionally glancing up to see how the alpha asserted his dominance with a raised tail. Drustan gave a few sways of his tail in greeting whilst still keeping his gave beneath the level of the Alpha's. Both being of large build, Drustan also forced himself to crouch a little, making sure that he in now way matched up to the height of the male. He waited quietly and patiently for the male to speak once he had stepped to the borders, but as seconds passed by, it seemed that Drustan himself would have to be the one to start the conversation. With a soft shake of his pelt, ridding himself of the few tingles of annoyance, he rose his head to look up to the alpha, a casual grin upon his lips. "Nice place you have here." He started, a little unsure. "Must take ages to mark?" He continued. ".. But worth it." He felt stupid now, looking around to the scenery behind the alpha. Mindless dribble, that was all he was doing. But then, there wasn't really a polite or correct way to say 'can I explore your lands because I'm bored?' was there?

(This post was last modified: Sep 13, 2010, 04:15 PM by Drustan.)

<b>OOC:</b> Very sorry about the wait on this post, things have been kind of hectic at school this week. =)

What is Wisdom?

Honijo watched the younger male with narrowed eyes. He felt some approval as the other reacted to his presence appropriately; lowering himself and averting his gaze. It was not as much submission as Honijo would have liked, but until he knew full well that his power stopped the moment his borders ended, and the younger male was clearly beyond his borders.

The younger wolf spoke up after what felt like an eternity of silence. What he said only irritated Honijo; he had better things to do with this time than listen to the dark gray male speak about how long it took to mark borders. The leader seriously doubted that the male in front of him knew anything about marking borders or what it took to secure a territory. He was still wet behind the ears, so to speak; at least he was in comparison to the five year old alpha. "Yes, it is. Now, what do you want," he spoke abruptly, his tone indicating that clearly he was not in the mood for nonsense or games. If an answer was not provided, Honijo would chase the younger male off; claimed lands or no. He had come to the mountains to escape the riff raff that had suddenly flooded the forest below; he didn't want to deal with that here.

(This post was last modified: Sep 17, 2010, 01:38 PM by Honijo.)

<center><img src='http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z151/kittykarnage/mp2.png' title='Leader of Midnight Plateau' /></center>

<span style='color:blue'><b> OOC:</b> *barges in with the bizarre Skittles*</span>

<blockquote>A low branch on a steady old tree had served as a pleasant observation spot, sheltering him from the harshness of the sun, and providing ample cover to observe the goings-on of the world outside without being observed himself. In these times, he was not in the world, he was merely a passer-by, a rejection and a by-product of it that had chosen to live on a higher plane, away from the suffocating inhibitions of social normality.

As a timber wolf had passed by, his surveyance felt like it had drawn to a close, and a sidequest had been presented. Curious and compelled by the bright yellow eyes that had not met his own, he had followed the young male, staying adequately behind, and trying to stay unnoticed.

<i>"Nice place you have here." ".. But worth it." "Yes, it is. Now, what do you want," </i>, echoed the conversation in his ears, containing his younger male and an older one. No doubt, his stalkee had his mind on joining this old man's pack, but why? Simply because he had crossed into the owned territory of wonderful wilderness?

Skittles wasn't exactly sure what he was doing now, but he emerged from his hiding spot behind 'his' younger timber wolf. With his pleading light brown eyes, he looked into the yellows that he had followed all this distance, and softly moved his nose forwards, hoping to meet his for a casual sniff - a sign of personal acceptance, and the possibility of a friendship - instead of the disgusted rejections he received from all the others, pushing, batting, or snarling him away as if he was a flatulent, fat, lazy, disgusting hippopotamus wallowing in his own filth. He was no such being. He said nothing, but his wide-eyed puppy dog look, and his nervous yet happy wagging between his legs did all the talking for him. <i>"Please don't go..."</i>, his body language cooed, with a subtle hint of <i>"Friends? Friends? Yesyes?"</i>. He hoped his mannerisms would not be considered <span class='word'>burlesque</span>; indeed was aware he was interrupting the solemn rite of a possible pack-acceptance.

Aware of the leader on-site, but merely interested in the moment in hand, he kept his tail ducked submissively, avoided eye contact with this older one, and kept and his body scrunched up together, trying to convey his intentions as non-threatening.

</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Sep 18, 2010, 02:23 AM by Skittles.)