Willow Ridge noi regnano sovrane

Things had gotten slightly better within Willow Ridge since Morganna found and brought home Deacon. Angier had accepted Taima into the ranks fully which had given Sorya a reason to stop officially stalking her though Sorya did not yet trust the shifty mother. Needless to say she would still be paying extra attention to the Lyall child and her cub. Either way, she was back to doing constant rounds as any guardian should while still checking in with the pups to make sure that none of them go missing like they did last time. That did remind her that she wanted to have a small chat with her sister about a pack role that Sorya might be seeking or perhaps she could go see her brother-in-law about it too. It didn't matter to the sooty subordinate either way.

Hmmn, in fact, she had just finished one of her rounds for the day so she figured that she might as well talk to one of them about a pack role. She would raise her muzzle in a call for @Angier because she felt like her sister might be busy keeping a very close eye on the child who had disappeared from right under their noses. It was a howl that did not mark any urgency, a sort of call for 'if you have time' type of thing. She would fall onto her haunches as she waited close to the center of the territory but a decent length from the pack den where it would require a bit of a scenic walk. She would patiently await his arrival with the hopes of being crowned a guardian.

When a call came to him from well within Willow Ridge, Angier's paws faltered in their steps. Since Sköll's return, he had yet to fully meet with the yearling face-to-face, and a fragment of him was not quite prepared. There had been a scent, an <i>odor</i>, there that the Lyall had yet to place in his mind, but as far as he was concerned about what the yearling had done in his trek to the north, Angier was in dire need to both brace and explain himself if anyone ever dared to ask...

Head held low with a runner's stride, he scampered through the thin willow branches; and, only when he discerned that he had come close to his caller's location, he came to a halt then continued on with cautious steps. Every so often he lifted his head to test the air and sample it for the changed musk that told him his step-son was in the area... It was clear, for the most part, and here within these parts, Sorya's characteristic fragrance held precedence.

His tail lifted, mimicking that of a human household's pet husky, and with it he relayed a sense of geniality with a few slow-swaying wags. "Evening," he greeted her, standing tall at last when he could fully pick her out among the willow trees. His voice might have had a rough tone to it, likened to that of shifting gravel stones as they rubbed up against one another, but the the question that followed was clearly marked by genuine curiosity. It was typical for Elettra to bark and demand for him and for him to come running to her like a scolded cub, but for him to answer a summons issued by his mate's sister (someone he had initially pegged as 'just as intimidating) was something new in his book. For once, he found that he was no longer daunted by members of her family. "What is it?"

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It did not take terribly wrong for the leader to grace her with his presence with a rumbled hello. She let her tail tuck to show the proper respect as he asked what she wanted from him that particular day. "I'd like to discuss a pack role for myself with you." She stated simply as she looked to him with eager eyes. She had considered which role she wanted very carefully despite already knowing she wanted to be a guardian. She had looked into hunting and scouting a bit but steered clear from healing since her nephew was quite capable on his own. Hunting was quite a bore unless it was something big and worthwhile which she required more than herself to catch so that ruled that out.

While she had enjoyed doing some scouting, she still preferred to stick to the borders and never strayed far from the pack itself. She had taken a calming breathe because she realized she had been slightly lost in thought though she still held an attentive and slightly eager look on her face. "I was hoping to be named a Guardian." She added to the statement she had made beforehand and wondered what was running through his mind on this particular topic. She also wondered if she had been right to call for @Angier and not Elettra. Perhaps she should have called for them both but she figured her sister wasn't letting her (Elettra's) children out of her sight for very long after the Deacon fiasco.

Her reasons were simple, and in a statement that cut to the chase, she told him why she had asked for his presence, "I'd like to discuss a pack role for myself with you." He stared across his muzzle at her, curious and amused to say the very least. "Really?" he questioned with a slight tilt of his tawny crown. She was prepared, and it barely fazed him as she countered, "I was hoping to be named a Guardian."

"A Guardian?" he repeated, his tone solemn despite the grin that had split his face into a rather disbelieving grin. "Is that so?" If he had been more aware of the situation at hand, he probably wouldn't have doubted her; but for a man who hailed from a patriarchal pack (and had been doubted for most of his adult life) to look at Sorya, whose training within Torbine could have easily met or bested his own abilities, he should have known an inkling of the sort of territory he was wading into.

He drew close to her then, his pale gold eyes sweeping over her, sizing her up. She was young, that much he knew, but what he did want to know was how far the Archer was willing to go to prove herself if she was able to come up with an answer as to why she opted to become a guard of the Ridge. "An' what makes ya so confident in yer decision?" Well-bred genetics and self-confidence, his mind lent to him as he gave a smirk. This form and style of interrogation, of prying for information, was definitely something Elettra, herself, had instilled within him; and, now he had finally mastered it to an art.

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There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

He seemed surprised at her ambition and that fazed her slightly. Was it really so unbelievable? He asked her why she was so confident and that was what irritated her. She'd answer with a smooth and clear voice though, knowing she had to keep her cool. "I made my choice a long time ago when I was back in the Torbine Empire. I've been training for this since I was just a pup. No reason to doubt myself after a year, maybe slightly more, of training now is there?" Her response wasn't a challenge but more of her stating what he obviously didn't know. It made her wonder if Elettra had shared everything about the Empire with him, including the habits of training. She also began to think she should have gone to see Elettra.

The Archer line reigned supreme within the ranks of Willow Ridge with eight of the fourteen wolves carrying the name with them. Though, with this doubt, Sorya might have been swayed to start agreeing with Skoll about his precious step father. "Do you doubt my abilities to be a capable guardian, Sir." She questioned him back with a rather flat tone. That was something that Sorya did not like. She could handle anything except people doubting her skills. The questioning in her eyes was evident as she wondered how he would dare to respond. Would he further question her or give her what she called him to take. She was going to get that role one way or another.

She rose to his little 'challenge,' readily letting him know that she had been ready for this opportunity since she had been a pup. Nothing, not even awe or disappointment marked his face of glinted at her in his irises. Regardless of whether she was Elettra's "kid" sister or not, Angier had planned to run her through the gauntlet, just like any other subordinate among his and Elettra's ranks.

She looked at him then, her own tone of voice just as flat and indifferent, "Do you doubt my abilities to be a capable guardian, Sir." The Leader scoffed, the puff of air nothing more than a hint at his climbing expectations. "Oh," he sounded, his tail waving now in the air, "No, no... not at all." The shake of his head was quick to dismiss any sort of jest or lack of sincerity that could have been picked up in his tone. He really was just trying to test her boundaries. After having to face and maintain a place beside someone as intimidating as Sorya's sister, he merely wanted to see if the Archer hubris had a place within Sorya as well... so far, it seemed it did, which was most amusing as he, Borden, Tesla, and Nolan shared nothing but a maybe a couple of characteristic pelt markings, eye color, and their father's surname.

"Ya wanna be a Guardian," he spoke now, the expression on his face now turned to stone, "Then you are to bring me a fox pelt. There's been a bunch-a sightings lately 'round 'ere an' I'm sure yer sister an' I would like ta see their numbers reduced."

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His lack of sincerity made her narrow her eyes slightly. He'd get what was coming to him eventually and she grinned at his challenge. "Consider it done but let's up the stakes. I'll bring you two pelts to line the den with." She said before lurking off through the forest to find her prey and kill them so she could skin them. She'd not given herself any easy task but it was doable. She'd been tracking the scent through the forest, careful to keep her eyes open for the red pelted creatures. It was something she was going to do fast so he'd have no real reason to doubt her. At least, no good reason to doubt that Sorya Archer was a guardian through and through.

Her self-confidence was far from wounded with his doubts because he knew nothing about her and her skills. She saw it out of her peripherals... the red pelted menaces that were lurking about the territory and she turned to see one pecking at a rodent like some carnivorous beast. She grinned as sh lunged towards it, her canines barred as it turned towards her with a not so intimidating snarl hidden away on it's ugly muzzle. She'd make quick work of overpowering the light and small creature with a grin as she eagerly ripping out the jugular. She'd leave it there as she stood over the creature that was bleeding out. Victoriously, she would lick the blood off of her muzzle as she narrowed her eyes. Where there is one fox, there is almost always another. They almost always had filthy, disgusting groups of mates and children. That was it, she had to find the den.

She was not far off to find kits mewling about. She debating killing them but she wanted to find the mother first as she had killed presumably father first. She found her alright. She felt something ram her side and she turned to see a feral fox trying to protect her kits. She hissed as she lunged at the female before her with a wicked grin in her muzzle. One dead pest, good. Two dead pests, even better. She tangled with with the fox for a bit, getting some blood drawn from her shoulder due to a bite before she managed to snap the neck of the creature with her powerful jaws. She'd drag it over to the other fox and then proceed to drag them both back to the leader who was waiting for her return. When she arrived she dropped them at his feet with a grin of pride.

"Consider it done," she said, and Angier gave her a curt nod. But, then she continued, "but let's up the stakes. I'll bring you two pelts to line the den with." She beamed at him before running off through the willows and Angier took a deep sigh. Sorya, mentally, he figured was tough enough for the job; physically, he wondered just what she was really capable of. She was an Archer after all... After a long while, when he had stood for some time in the silence she had left him to, he took a brief walk before he returned to the very place he and Sorya had met.

He had paced a few times, making two full circles under the umbrella-like branches of a particular willow when he had thought to leave. Spending his time waiting for her had been limited and he still had Sköll to address. He wanted to know what had happened to keep the his yearling step-son away from the pack and why the youth was acting so evasive. Angier turned around and was ready to march off when he heard her... heard the determination in her steps, heard the sound of rustling on the ground that belonged to something heavy.

The Lyall turned to see her standing there before him; their eyes met for the briefest of moments before his gaze fell upon the couple of foxes that were dropped at his feet. As much as he wanted to back away, he didn't and he merely stared at her, his hackles bristling. For being Elettra's sister, he really shouldn't have expected nothing less. Obviously, these Archers - Elettra, Sorya, Xetor... even Asriel, Sköll, and Morganna - were forces to be reckoned with. He ought to have known that, having Elettra as his mate and all...

"Impressive," he murmured. He could still smell the thrill of the hunt and her adrenaline laced within the fibers of her pelt, pheromones, and the scent of freshly spilled blood. His brow quirked then, upon noticing how close the two vermin smelled of one another. Mates, he noted, the awed whisper echoing in his ears. He had one last question to ask her before releasing her along the edges of the pack territory with a title to her name. "So what'd ya do with the kits?"

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He used one word to describe the feat she had pulled off and it was simply the perfect word for it. Impressive. He then asked abut the kits and she responded immediately. "They are being dealt with immediately after this meeting is concluded." She responded, figuring that she wanted to use her strength to drag the foxes there and then on the way back out to run the borders again she'd quickly dispose of the red fox's kits while Angier went off to do whatever it was that he did around the Ridge. Perhaps later she'd stop in to visit the pups and Elettra if she had time or she'd maybe go to see Xetor about her shoulder. She doubted the foxes had been disease but it never hurt to be sure.

Her grey muzzle was shut but not clenched as her tail waved slowly from side to side in anticipation for what was going to happen next. She had proven herself to him now was he going to pull through with his bargain. She hoped he was an honest man because she didn't take too well to liars. She realized that more often, time and time again, she was judging the wolves around her. She didn't need to judge Elettra or Xetor or any of Elettra's children but she judged any wolf who was not an Archer by name. They all had the Archer blood and while Angier was a mate to Elettra, he didn't carry the last name. Was it just her getting overly paranoid about family?