Sex: Female Both litters had been born in the Ridge pack. At first, Enia had thought it odd that two women in the pack were having children, but the young Athesila had come to accept it and realise that Willow Ridge was not Secret Woodlands and never would be. The pack would be run in a different way and if Ravenna allowed breeding within the pack to be extended to others outside of herself, then that was her decision. Besides, with the healthy numbers that Willow Ridge were standing at, they could support a second litter. That being said, with both mothers den-bound, the dark girl usually found herself doing what she could to provide for her pack. If she was not resting, the motivated girl could be found doing rounds of the borders. Due to the current vermin, she did not leave the territory and since she did not had not formed close relationships with any of her pack mates yet, did not feel comfortable asking anyone to accompany her out of pack lands. That being said, she hoped to remedy it soon. The young woman made her way towards the borders after she woke up. Enia wanted to ensure that the borders were remarked from her patrol of the borders from the day prior. If there was one thing that her parents had always been prideful of, it had been a heavily marked pack border. While certain things may be different in Willow Ridge, Enia was almost certain that this concept would be similar and carry over to all packs - though she would prefer to stay in Willow Ridge for as long as the it would be allowed. Loyalty was something that Enia prided herself on. It did not take her long to reach the borders. She would make the patrol as quick was possible to avoid any runins with possible coyotes. |
Blackmoore had spent most of the time on the borders of the willow ridge as of late. After all, it had been the height of the unpleasant coyote business, and nobody could say for sure when it would end. Or who would come around the borders seeking refuge from the scourge. Hence why the dark male have been more active here than anywhere else in the pack. Going as far as beyond the borders to keep a close tab on the moves of the vermin. Sometimes he'd would get lucky and find a single scoundrel scouting up the borders, thus focused towards the willow ridge. The dark male have tried to use that to his advantage multiple times, but so far no cigar. He was a tad too big for this game it seemed. At best he'd would end up with a tuft of fur between his chops but otherwise he was successful only in that he'd managed to disrupt any attempts at scouting out the borders by the smaller 'cousins'... If one could call them like that, taking in the fact that so far it seemed like an attempt on a hostile take-over.
That however have been only part of the truth why the male had been here so much as of late. After all, the birthing of pups had sent ripples that had affected him as well. In the male's case however, harboring a particular interest in one of the freshly anointed mothers meant quite an emotional ride. And Blackmoore felt best at dealing with the facts alone. Trying to figure out what could have been done. Besides, it would be simply unbecoming of him to try to nose himself in right now, which he'd could inevitably do if he'd tried to spent his days close to the dens. As they say, curiosity is a first step to hell. While the male have been the one that was supposedly entirely respectable... At least to a point, as his desires could lead him towards quite a war somewhere down the road - though that have not been known to him yet. Though maybe he'd would already suspect it, knowing that nothing comes for free and without struggle.
Failing to find any fresh tracks near the borders of the willow ridge, the male have eventually decided to direct himself back towards the pack that have so graciously invited him. The dark male have set out way before the sun have even rose up above the ridges of the mountains to the east, so by now Blackmoore felt a little sore and worn out. Especially since that temperatures have begun to rise significantly almost on a daily basis, though it was still getting quite chilly during the nights. The weather have been quite unassuming today however, keeping its options open. Like a good poker player that have hide it's cards behind a loose base of clouds that could either gave way to the clear skies or transform into the iron skies that would only promise rain. If not more...
The male have shook his mane and gave a soft sigh as his paws took him lazily over the border. A soft rumble down his belly have reminded him of the fact that he'd missed on breakfast so far. Perhaps it had been the time to do something about it?
| All was quiet on the border, or at least it was until a scent made its way towards her. It was a pack wolf, one of their own, easily indictated by the strong scent of the Ridge leaders on its pelt. A frown formed on the woman's face, her eyebrows creasing together in concern as she paused. Had Sven not made it clear to them? No, he had, she remembered clearly. Maybe this member had not known. The Athesila woman did not recognize his scent and as his pawsteps neared, she shifted her weight from paw to paw. It wouldn't be bad for her to tell him such a thing. She doubted that he was superior to her, though they had both just joined the pack. When he finally came into view, she offered him a polite smile, her light brown eyes taking in his brown form. Again, her eyebrows creased in concern. When she spoke, her tone was light but filled with concern, "You know you're not suppose t'go outside the borders without another pack member accompanying you, right?" Dark ears cupped forward in anticipation for his answer. |
The male soldiered on from the border, slowly, without any rush to be seen in his moves. After all, the man felt safe here - armed in the knowledge that only a grand number of really desperate coyotes would even dare to attempt crossing over the vibrantly marked border of the willow ridge. To Blackmoore it was now a time for some R and R, or to put it blatantly - time for brief respite and relaxation from the chores that the man imposed on himself so willingly. Perhaps it had been his character that loathed sluggards and lazybones to the core. Or maybe something else, something more ulterior in his motives for doing so. It was hard to say, maybe it was both at the same time - just driving the man to be worthy of acceptance from others as well as just from one person in particular. The time will tell.
Right now however, the dark male had been trying to figure out what he'd should do, aside from finally having a breakfast, with the time he had on his paws. The male had been so lost in the thought he'd almost missed on the manikin of a wolf that had been watching him for a moment as the man was closing the distance. In a sudden rush of anxiety the man realized he'd might have been taken for being impolite by so he'd opened his maw to say some form of greeting. However the man could only close it shut as the packmate before him had spoke first, rebuking him in a way for doing his job. The man stopped, raising his head in a slight surprise over the tone of the words he'd just heard. Only then really realizing how great of a size difference there was between the two.
"I think that I'm able to take care of myself, thank you." He'd spoke with a pretty neutral voice considering the rebuke that he'd just heard from the smaller wolfess. Blackmoore only did saw her briefly once or twice before, so he'd knew next to nothing about the woman at which he'd been currently looking from above - thanks to his size. It wasn't tho that she'd had been wrong, but unlike the smaller female - Blackmoore was fairly capable of holding out against the coyotes on his own. And if he couldn't - he wasn't that stupid to go far enough to be unable either to dash to safety or call for backup, even if the latter would be frowned upon. "But yes, I know. You could say that it had been me that brought the news, you know?" The male picked up with a lighter tone, as he lowered his head down to not tower over the female so much. Looking into her brown eyes, he added a little more seriously. "It's happening all over the place, not just to us."
| For a moment, she was worried. Their new member was unresponsive even though they were standing face-to-face. She offered him a half smile, hoping that he would snap out of whatever funk he was in. If needed, Enia would happily call for help. She did not want any packmate to get spooked on her watch. The man finally snapped out of his funk and acknowledged her presence. While she expected him to be thankful for her words of caution, he did no such thing. Eyebrows creased and, if possible, dark ears flattened on her head even more so. She had meant no harm in mentioning this to the male in front of her. She just did not want him to get into a scuffle with the vermin, especially with their lead healer immobile with puppies. The Athesila had been around for some time and had already been aware of the problem that faced them. Her tail waved behind her neutrally when she spoke, "Yeah, I know. That's why we have that caution put in place." She frowned looking out to where their pack borders did not reach. Often, she wondered how she would have faired if Ravenna had not found her that day. Enia had a lot to be grateful for. Light brown eyes turned back towards the newcomer. Still, she offered him a half smile, "I'm Enia Athesila." |
The reaction he'd got out from a smaller female had quite honestly perplexed the way larger male. It wasn't something that the man had expected, after hearing her own words that he'd took, quite frankly, for a rebuke for him trying to do the good job. Sure, the male would agree that there was a danger out there but the male wasn't going out of his way to get hurt. Sure, he'd go beyond the border to scare the spying vermin, but he wasn't even going that far to be in a much of danger. By his eye, quite honestly the smaller female before him could do the same if not far better than him - utilizing her smaller size to get a better jump on the singled out scoundrels. But of course that would cross his mind a little later, as for now the man had simply raised his eyebrows in a slight confusion just before the woman herself had spoke again in response.
"Yeah, while I'm trying to put some fear into those coyotes. So if any of the kids will feel adventurous in the future - they won't be jumped instantly upon crossing the border." He said in return, easing up on his tone quite a bit as slight confusion had crept into the tunes of his voice. "Look, I'm not endangering myself more than it is necessary okay?" The male continued, while lowering himself enough to not look from above upon the female that could be easily twice as small as he was. "I'm not even going that far to not be able to return on my own. I should be safe at least till 'they' grow up beyond half of my size." A soft chuckle escaped his maw as the male relaxed a little while trying to imagine such overgrown coyote - it would had to be a wolf mutt surely. The idea seemed to be quite improbable to him however. "I feel it's my duty to at least try do something about the current situation you know? And you can't do that without taking some risks every now and then. One can be however conscious about how he's going to take those risks..." He felt that way for many reasons. Starting with a one in a silver coat...
"I'm Blackmoore."
| Enia was also confused. She could not understand why someone would willingly go against the precautions put in place for their safety. The reason they were to travel in pairs were because the coyotes were doing the same. It was simply for their safety. She was never one to argue though and remained silent as she listened to the man's explanation. The young Athesila woman certainly hoped that this was the case and that he would be able to handle the coyotes on his own if it ever came to it, because Enia certainly would not be found outside of the borders by herself. With her petite build, it would be speed on her side more than anything, because she would turn tail and run for it if she were alone. It certainly seemed like the best option.She did not feel like arguing with him, especially when their view points were so different. She respected that he wanted to protect and serve the pack at such high costs. It was just not something she was willing to do. "Well, it's nice't meet you. How long have you been living here?" The woman's tail was waving neutally behind her back, indicating that she was in no hurry to leave. |
The man didn't knew how well his explanation had sat with the petite woman in front of him. But honestly, he didn't cared either as he'd spoke the truth. It was all that mattered to him in this regard, that said however - he could understand from where Enia was coming. Their perspectives differed, both in a proverbial and literal way, but that had been okay with him. He was doing what perhaps only a few in the ridge could, and he was doing it for the others. A man like him didn't expect nor demanded recognition for that. And a bit of critique could prove helpful sometimes.
In other words, the man would respectfully 'agree to disagree' with her on this issue.
Seeing that Enia wasn't going to budge, the man chuckled just before she'd spoke. "Well, if I screw it up I'll have nobody else to blame than myself. I understand the concern though, it's very thoughtful of you." He smiled politely towards the smaller female. "But I got to do this if I'm ever going to be a guardian." Which had been true, after all by this point the dark male had been questioned about this by the leading male himself. Though Blackmoore suspected that his counterpart had dabbled a paw in it as well. Neither had surprised him, after all that was pretty much what any leader had seen in him since he'd grown up. Some things never change, as they say.
"Likewise." The man responded, despite the soft argument that they just had. She was simply concerned and the man wasn't going to think ill of her for doing so. Thus he didn't minded and he had genuinely thought so as he'd spoke - adorning it with a brief smile. It was good to get to know your packmates after all. "Sadly I have only arrived here in the past month." He continued, as his maw looked to the side briefly as his eyes mused upon the surroundings. "I had been tied up north for the most part of the winter." And what had come after it - but that the man had left out and said it only within the confines of his head.
| While Enia could not understand what he was doing, she could certainly understand his reasons for doing so. Had she been in his position and wanting to impress her parents, she would have done anything in order to win over their favor - even if that meant bending a few rules in order to benefit the pack overall. In a way, she understood. The Athesila just was not a Guardian type and could never see her being one. If it was what Blackmoore wanted, then who she was to stop him? It came as no surprise to hear that the dark man had no been in the company of the Ridge for very long. While she too had only recently joined, his scent was fairly new compared to those she had familarized herself with when she first joined. Perhaps they both did have something in common then - being grateful for what Ravenna had offered them. A safe home. In response to his vague answer, she said, "At least you're here now. I suppose we can both agree on that?" The petite woman's tail wagged behind her neutrally. |
Blackmoore didn't knew what kind of answer he was expecting to hear, but he'd knew that the one his cream tipped ears had heard coming from Enia wasn't the one. Honestly, it had been quite the opposite of it all, as she'd skillfully disarmed the whole argument with a just few seemingly naive words. The male had found himself quite confused for a brief part of a second honestly, as one could say she'd threw the rug from under his feet - proverbially of course. But it didn't last any more than that, though perhaps she'd would notice the change before the male had regained his composure.
With a chuckle, partially to himself, partially to the world, the male would smile briefly before speaking again. "Sure, I suppose so." How could he stay "mad" on somebody like that right? No matter did she'd truly posses a silver tongue or was it just a fluke from her. Quite honestly, the dark wolf had begun to simply enjoy the predicament she'd put him in. Not literally of course, but it was nice to see a friendly face like hers. "Not sure though how it will work out yet." He added after a brief moment of thought as Blackmoore was still working things out.