Grizzly Hollow long live the pioneers

For @Ryvet -- backdated to 9/9 for timeline.

One step down…two more stood between him, and Rook.  Of course, he would never seek to displace the King!  Not even in his dreams.  Instead, the older male wished to be the best support he could be, either through giving advice or mending the sick of body or mind.  All the same, it was difficult to lend credence or backing to anything the lord tried to do if he were but a mid-ranked male among the wolves of Grizzly Hollow.

It was with this in mind that Veho sought to come forth and call for Ryvet – a Lyall son he’d yet to meet personally.  He knew of the man, of course, knew his smell marking the borders, and could spot him from a distance.  The medic kept himself busy, however.  Were he not actively tending a patient or seeing to Borden’s comfort, than he was out of pack lands himself, seeking out herbs and plants to return to his medical cache were they could dry and be safely stored away for the incoming winter months.  A wolf could never be too prepared!  Given Grizzly Hollow’s growing size (a notion that filled the man’s heart with happiness), it was best to be over rather than under in any potential supplies he might need.  It would be a tragedy to lose even one of their members to some preventable fate.

Once unable to find Ryvet nearby, the medic slowly drew to a halt.  Planting himself on his haunches, the threw a call to the third-ranked male to the sky, allowing it to echo off the trees as he waited.  I can do this, Veho coached himself.  He’d survived his encounter with Titan – he could surely do this again.

(This post was last modified: Sep 17, 2015, 01:03 AM by Veho.)

He never thought he would find the scent of Cedar oppressive, the looming trees claustrophobic or feel so uncomfortable weaving between their branches. Every step felt like a betrayal to the memories he clung to, every footfall tainting something sacred, like trampling eggshells in a long discarded nest simply for the sake of destruction. All the time he had been gone, this was the place he remembered with the fondest memories, perhaps it was because he suddenly felt so out of place. With the majority of the members of the pack being born in the season after him and the only members older - his parents, he struggled to connect with any of the others that dwelled here. Add to that the assumed identities… It shouldn’t be this way.

He was hoping for once, to catch @Rook between rounds. He wanted to ask him… No, tell him he was heading out for a week or so, but as usual, his little brother remained illusive. The scowl on his face only deepened as the howl carried on the breeze. What could the medic want with him? Assuming it must have something to do with Borden, Ryvet shook his head and snorted, rounded ears turning rotating to try and find a direction to travel before he let his nose do the rest of the work for him.

It was clear from the slump in his shoulders and frown that now seemed to be permanently fixed to his face that he had very little patience to spare these days, his tail lashed behind him impatiently. “Is it father?” he questioned, unable to disguise a hint of frustration in his tone. Not for the first time he wished it was Aniu and Sibyl treating his father, and not a child and a stranger.

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Curiously, @Ryvet did not seem very pleased to have been summoned. Had he already guessed what the medicine man sought? The scuffle with @Titan had been no secret, and the older wolf had assumed the rank of fourth. However, things had remained amicable, if not downright friendly, between the two aspiring medics. They’d treated Jynx together efficiently, and if he’d ever thought that two healers in a medical den was two many, he certainly didn’t believe so now. There was no reason for a rank challenge to breed animosity, but here came the white wolf with nothing but impatience and a hint of aggression – Veho found his hackles raising by centimeters even as he dipped his head in greeting.

“Your father is fine,” the healer explained calmly. For now, he did not add, for it was cruel to worry an already concerned child. When something changed with Borden’s condition, he would call for @Rook first, and heed the alpha’s instructions on how to deal with the situation when it arose. Hopefully, the delta would be able to cast these doubts from his mind, and would focus the situation at hand. “I am here to discuss something with you. Your rank.”

I want it. No, I need it. For Rook.

Tail swishing behind his back, only the flag betrayed his anxiety as his ears swiveled and the male dipped his head for a second time. “It is my intention to serve your brother the best I can, and believe I need to have the authority to support his decisions and carry the necessary weight behind it. So I am here to challenge you, Ryvet, respectfully. The first move is yours.”

When the medc informed him his father was fine the pale coated lad visibly relaxed. He wasn’t surprised by the next comment, his ears folding back against his skull and an unbidden submissive smile coming to his lips as he laughed. The other wolf looked nervous but he had no need to be, surely with his brothers scent so thick on this brown wolfs pelt he had offered the man some advice on the matter? Ryvet might be willing to put his body on the line to protect his family but when it came down to it, he was more content to keep the peace. It was the motivation for his trip to Willow Ridge, and it was his motivation for the journey he was about to take.

“Have it.” he chuckled, a small shake of his head shedding tension like rain drops as his shoulders hunched and his tail dropped to rest between his heels. He had been genuinely concerned that something was wrong, and instead it was a summoning to discuss politics. He had little interest in where he sat in the hierarchy of the pack. He had been born here and has as much claim to them as any other wolf - what he lacked was the ambition.

“You were going to get it regardless” he added with another grin, pink tongue passing over his nose as his head dipped. “I’m heading back to the Reach, I want to see if Aniu and Sibyl have any other suggestions for you and… that other one.” He added dismissively. He was awful when it came to the names of males, but he was yet to forget the name of any pretty lady and there was one he wanted to check in on on his way. “Think you can manage without me?” he joked.

Regardless, they would have to.

“I—“

Well, that was a surprise.  For a moment, the medic was stunned into silence, expecting his agemate to put up more of a fight for his position.  After all, @Ryvet had been in Grizzly Hollow considerably longer, and even Titan had put up a scuffle when he ultimately awarded the gray wolf his rank despite the outcome.  Tipping his head to one side, he allowed the white wolf a bob of his head, acknowledging what he’d said despite being unable to find the words to express the myriad of feelings swirling around his skull.  

“As you say,” Veho finally managed, studying the older Lyall son curiously as he explained his meaning.  He’d not known the man had planned to leave the Hollow for some time – while it made sense he was willing to give up his role of support while he was away, it did leave him to wonder if Ryvet would challenge for that rank once he’d returned, his quest fulfilled.  That question lead him only to more – had Rook sent him on this task?  Did the alpha even know his brother planned to take this journey?

After a moment, he spoke again.  “Forgive me, but I am not sure who Ainu and Sibyl are…and which other one you mean?  Do you refer to Titan, the other healer?” the gray wolf asked, only curiosity touching his tone.  Perhaps these wolves her sought were also of the medical persuasion?  It seemed a bit selfless, to carry medicinal information back to the pack, but perhaps Ryvet was one of the wolves who truly cared to better his group.  “I will do my best to manage in your absence,” he replied without hesitation, “as I wish to do my best for Rook and his kin.  Does your brother know you plan to leave?  I am…a bit surprised he had not shared that with me.”

(This post was last modified: Oct 03, 2015, 02:33 PM by Veho.)

He could only answer the grey wolf's stunned silence with an easy smirk. Had he expected a fight? It was true that Ryvet probably held the build of a promising guardian but he just didn't have it in him to brawl needlessly when he already had a task in mind. He had been a coward as a child, and while he may have grown out of his anxiety, he would always be a follower - Renier's side kick, Taima's punching bag. The silly little boy that liked to leave a breadcrumb trail of urine in his wake to make sure he didn't get lost.


Of course he didn't know of Aniu and Sibyl, he hadn't been here before. The mention of Titan's name bought a grimace to his face "Yes, that one." there was no point in hiding his displeasure, "Things are bad enough with Willow Ridge without him picking fights with Elettra's daughter of all people." he had made no secret of his attempts to repair things with Willow Ridge, it had even been a condition of allowing his brother his place in the ranks beneath their father and he had yet to act on it.

"Aniu and Sibyl were members of the original Grizzly Hollow before I was even born. Aniu knows plants, much like yourself but she had exhausted her options at the Reach. I just want to make sure nothing else has presented itself, and to let Trisden know how things are going." it was more of an explanation than he thought Veho deserved but he gave it none the less. "I was actually on my way to tell Rook when you called." not ask, tell. Let him think of that what he would.

“Ah…ha.”

@Ryvet was nothing like he expected – well, to be fair, the wolf wasn’t entirely sure what he expected, but it wasn’t the free-and-easy wolf standing before him. If he hadn’t known them both to be of Lyall stock, he’d have a hard time believing the snowy white male was Rook’s older brother. One bushy brow rose slowly as his mind raced to process, tucking that little tidbit about Titan away for a later date. No one else had mentioned such an incident, though if the other medic was prone to the occasional bought of violence (or perhaps simply suffering from a short temper), it was something he needed to know. He would ask his partner about it later.

All in all, the delta’s goals seemed…productive, if nothing else. There was honor in keeping the ties strong with packmates dispersed, as well as the ambition of repairing bonds between packs. Feuds served nothing except a wolf’s sore sense of pride. “I see. Well, I apologize from keeping you from your tasks,” Veho recovered eventually, giving his thick pelt a shake as he tried to brush away the surprise still clinging to him like pitch might to his coat. “I can relay your message, if you wish? I would not see you any further delayed.”

A post from Ryvet, and then we can both exit and get this thread finished? :3