|  Author | Topic: Letting Down One's Guard (Read 76 times) |
Connahei
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|  | Letting Down One's Guard
« Thread Started on Feb 2, 2009, 4:45pm » | |
When they first journeyed to the bitter northern lands, Connahei had different wolves by his side. One of the female warriors, however, soon began showing signs that she would bring pups into the world, and the Wolflord sent her back to the warmer lakelands where prey was in more abundance, knowing how much harder it would be to look after young in the mountains. With her he sent two others, an escort and a messenger, who returned to the group a number of days after Theric's removal with two replacement soldiers.
It was sheer luck that they had stumbled across the pond, and with autumn approaching slowly buy surely, a particularly sharp wind had sprung up, urging them to take shelter for the time being. As it was, the eight wolves had just finished quenching their thirst and huddled together in a slight dip in the land, close enough to be warm but aloof enough to retain some semblance of dignity and discipline.
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Arcas
Loner
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #1 on Feb 3, 2009, 4:54pm » | |
In some ways, the presence of Connahei and his group have gone unnoticed by the mountains as a whole; time passes on and the wilderness around them is untouched enough to simply melt around them the longer that they stay. It is nearing the colder seasons, and so the mountains seem to be changing faster than those southward, greener pastures. Temperatures fluctuate from low and frigid at night, to warm autumn weather when the sun shines past the hills.
Any other wolves up in these highlands are likely to have been to themselves; ever since there was an upstart coming to stake his claim, those scattered souls have been avoiding of company even amongst themselves. Who has time for rogues, when you need to eat for the cold? Who has the patience to deal with the Wolflord when you need to find a warmer home? So it is up here, where those used to the lowlands find themselves so often at odds with the elements.
One wolf that is perfectly at home is Arcas; he has wandered from his homes in the caverns because of Connahei. Not to make a scene, per se, but to scene his making, so to speak. He has not yet appeared to them. As he takes slow steps over the ridge of the next hill downwind, his pale yellow eyes seem to float along with him and give the hefty, dark wolf an aura as if he might have just strolled out of the mountainside. For now he remains idling on that opposite hilltop, his figure outlined enough against the groggy, early autumn sky.
Either Arcas is waiting for them to notice him first, or debating over whether to actually grab their attention.
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Connahei
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #2 on Feb 3, 2009, 7:01pm » | |
Oftentimes it is one of the followers, assigned the temporary position of sentry, who will first spy something out of the ordinary, a new element in the environment. On this occasion, however, it was the Wolflord himself who, casting his senses about in a sweep that was more routine than paranoid, settled his attention on a shape in the distance. A flick of his eyes made certain the wolf wasn't one of his group - no, all present. His ears pushed forward, mouth opening a touch as he tried to get a good feel for the stranger's scent. A messenger, maybe? But no, one of his Legends wouldn't hesitate to approach. As their leader grew tense and wary, the others picked up on his body language and all turned their attention to the point in the distance, waiting for Connahei's command. Finally, his self-assured authority took the reigns.
"Who are you? Do you answer to the Wolflord?" He rumbled, rising to his feet.
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Arcas
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #3 on Feb 3, 2009, 10:29pm » | |
Arcas' attention focuses when he is able to see at least one figure settle theirs on him first. His own ears cup the air around his head, nose twitching. The male in the distance pauses for a couple of breaths before deciding to make his way further down the ridge of the hill.
"A... local." He is noncommittal with his real answer, mildly suspicious. These wolves do not seem to be like others. They must be who they are rumored to be. "Well... has he called me with a question?" Need to do that before someone will answer something, yes? Arcas rumbles back, but his own is less self-assured- he has no reason to be smug with himself. He does, however, sound inquiring as he stops at the edge of the hilltop's bottom, attention wholly on those wolves curled up on the piece of land opposite. Though his responses are fairly cryptic and easygoing, Arcas himself is more than ready to depart again if that is what it comes to.
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Connahei
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #4 on Feb 4, 2009, 7:54pm » | |
"This one is dense," a Legend murmured behind Connahei, to which another replied, "Or just acting it."
"He does," the Wolflord declared, stepping forward a few paces, head high, tail high, arrogance high. "I am the Wolflord, and these mountains are part of my land. Are you passing through, or have you settled in this place?" He did not ask if Arcas had simply always been here - perhaps it didn't occur to him, perhaps he didn't want to show any lack of confidence that he had wiped out all the original inhabitants. As one, while he spoke, his followers rose up and locked their eyes upon the stranger. Although a strong bunch, confident and calm, they lacked the sharp scent of self-assured dominance that clung to the fur of a Legend in his home territory in the lakelands.
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Arcas
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #5 on Feb 5, 2009, 4:21pm » | |
Only yours because you say such- is what runs through Arcas' head. Connahei is out of place here, and only words decree him master. In that way, Arcas is mildly affronted; though, on the other hand- there may very well be real power there for him to think of saying it. In that way, Arcas has the same underlying respect.
Pale yellow eyes stopped to regard the group over yonder, and the dark brown head on broad shoulders tilted slightly. A simple gesture, but one that is also universally inquiring. His tail is lain naturally, and there is nothing altogether physical about Arcas that makes him hostile; only his confidence in that first appearence, and the calmness in his words.
"I've always been here. Well... up there, for a ...very long time." At this, Arcas flickered his gaze off into the sky, followed by his head and nose, and the motion itself gestured off to that peak in the distance, surrounded by its little brothers and sisters, stoic and white in the clouds.
He turned his attention back to Connahei's group, examining them with flitting eyes and a small, idle whiff of air.
"I trust that you have long chased off that... braggart, yes?" Theric. He knew the answer, but also knew the best way to distract some mighty, zealous leader is to ask him about his conquests.
(ooc: agh. I have been writing all this in present tense. are we supposed to be doing past? x.x or at this point does it not matter?)
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Connahei
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #6 on Feb 5, 2009, 6:59pm » | |
(Doesn't matter in the slightest.  I try to do MU*ing in present and forum stuff in past, but only because that's how I've always done it, not because it actually matters.)
"The lone male who thought he could take these mountains from me with no pack to support him?" He sounded like he might laugh, but didn't. "He will annoy these heights with his scent no longer. Too foolish, too lacking in political tact... that one would have been a poor leader anyways." Theric had reminded Connahei of the Alpha of his birth pack. It had been perhaps too pleasing to prove himself master of the land to an overeager upstart. "I didn't even need to come to oversee his removal."
But it was good that he came. Connahei had stayed longer than planned, exploring the mostly evacuated slopes of the mountains, refreshing his scent markers, and making himself more familiar with this end of his realm. "You knew him?" The Wolflord questioned, pondering the likelihood that Theric had in fact begun collecting pack members to himself, and that this dark mountain beast was here for revenge. Suspicion toyed with his thoughts.
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Arcas
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #7 on Feb 5, 2009, 8:07pm » | |
Ascas simply watches, nose wrinkling in the air when Connahei implies the two knew one another.
"...If you had not come to do it, I would have."
And there you have it- Arcas practically promises that he doesn't like wolves such as Theric; those young bucks crawling out of the woodwork every once in awhile to try and make a claim on something that can never be theirs. Connahei might be the same, if he had not already been a master of elsewhere out of the mountains.
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Connahei
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #8 on Feb 5, 2009, 9:08pm » | |
Good. This wolf he was dealing with was no fool. Smart enough not to follow Theric, or smart enough not to admit it. At an unspoken command, articulated with little more than a combination of exhale and twitch of muscle, three of the Legends slid forward to investigate Arcas a little more closely. Connahei remained in place. "Do you have a pack?" If he answered yes, they would have more work to do. They would have to absorb them, drive them off, or kill them. Might be difficult with only a few wolves, rather than his full force. An unexpectedly cold breeze hit him, and the unwanted craving to be back in the south with the pups that would have been born earlier this summer was one he had to try hard to subdue. Ah, the pack. He'd return there soon enough... perhaps not as soon as he'd thought, now that they'd run into a wolf, possibly an entire pack, that had been overlooked.
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Arcas
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #9 on Feb 6, 2009, 6:10pm » | |
Closer inspection should likely yield only the subtle, seemingly thousand tones of browns in his fur, and the note that there does not seem to be any visible scars, wears, tears, or otherwise notable markings not part of his pelt.
"No." Arcas grazed his eyes over the three now inspecting him, one ear tilting towards one in a usual watchful manner.
"It is only myself, that I know of. Others, they come and go. Some die here. Some go back south, or where they had come from. Some only find their way here because they had gotten lost. But not a soul seems to ever stay long." It is as if anyone that knew how to live here is gone or assimilated into one of Connahei's sub-packs. Arcas is a dying breed- a mountaineer by blood and life. One could learn, but Arcas is still largely alone these days.
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Connahei
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #10 on Feb 9, 2009, 12:44pm » | |
One of the wolves that came near to the shaggy beast of a loner slunk back to Connahei. The wolf, a rust-touched male with his tail just a touch higher and his eyes a touch more confident than the others, keened something softly into the Wolflord's ear. After a tense pause during which all the Legends stared intently at Arcas, the Alpha of all Alphas gave a quiet huff, his muscles losing a degree of tension. No, his body language said, we won't kill him. Perhaps it was the serene mountain, whispering words of wisdom to Connahei, but he saw potential, something... something about this wolf. A few of his followers had lived in the mountains and were like this stranger, rugged, thick-furred and able to tolerate the iciest of blusters. The confidence and comfort with which those sorts moved through these bitter lands was not something to be hunted out and destroyed, but rather used, taken advantage of.
"Would you like one?" Connahei growled, his mind racing as he explored the possibilities for this wolf. He would, whether or not he assisted with the re-population of the mountain, bow to the Wolflord.
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Arcas
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #11 on Feb 9, 2009, 7:08pm » | |
When the single wolf returns to Connhei's side, Arcas is still watching him patiently.
Does he want one? There's a question. Does he?
His pale yellow eyes stare intently at the ground around Connahei's front paws, thoughts somewhat slow, but his processes making an attempt to see this all at once. He hasn't had something like that since before he left to the peaks- and even before, he was only a whelp. To be frank, he has hardly thought about this.
After a few moments of pause, Arcas glances up at the other wolves and re-examines them. Is this a real offer, or a joke? It seems very real.
"What is the catch, Wolflord?" Is there any other besides 'unwavering loyalty'?
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Connahei
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| | Re: Letting Down One's Guard
« Reply #12 on Feb 13, 2009, 12:29am » | |
"Obedience," the Wolflord grunted immediately, holding himself higher now, in his element with this oft-spoken speech rolling from his tongue. "Loyalty. You will follow me and those that command my ranks. My packmates are your packmates, and any that I send up here will look to you for information and guidance. This place must be watched, and your eyes did not miss the coming and going of a rogue who would cause trouble. Your assistance will be expected from now on, whether or not you choose to join my pack." Here his stare was perhaps a bit menacing - this was the first outright death threat he had made towards Arcas, subtle though it was.
"If you do choose to become one of my Legendary Warriors, you would be... valuable as a guide here. You have lived long, and lived alone, and in these mountains that alone is indication of vastly superior survival skills. I want to put wolves back in the north, before other packs start trickling in. You could help." As an afterthought, Connahei added, "No wolf should ever be alone for long. It is... unnatural." Few wolves survive alone... it's no surprise that the desire for companionship is coded into their genetics.
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