One step Forward, two steps back

[almasa]

Almasa lay in the long grass fairly close to Aldgar's border, sighing heavily as she stared vacantly at the empty landscape. She had come quite a long way from the pathetic heap of fur that she'd been when Leviticus had first met her on the beach, now that she thought about it. Through only one tiny, insignificant year, she'd had more ups and downs in her life than she cared to reflect upon, yet she came out of them a changed wolf. She was no longer a young, scatter-brained yearling, she was a full-fledged adult, capable of making decisions and sticking to them. And after several months of keeping this most recent thought to herself and chewing over it several times in her head, Almasa had come to a final decision in her head, a decision that could change the entire course of her life thus far, a decision that she had been slightly terrified to make, but now she knew that it was all for her own good in the end. Almasa, the young and anti-social yearling, was finally going to join a pack.

The decision had first appeared when she'd been traveling with the loner female Shadai. The two had been looking for a good home between them, and they'd never found a suitable one in all of the lands that they'd fist journeyed to. Zahir was much too hot for her liking, Salen had a rather hostile alpha that hadn't seemed to take to trespassers very kindly, and Haishin.... the lands had just been so dull there. Like a blank slate, the pack's lands had been barren and wiped clean, any of their previous beauty removed forever. The two had been on their way to visit the Aldgar lands about two- or was it three?- months ago when Almasa had lost track of Shadai shortly after entering the Chamoru Plains. She'd searched for her friend and had found her in bad condition near the foot of a rather large tree, seeming to have been attacked. She had pleaded for Almasa to help her, but the female had been too selfish, too caught up in her personal hygiene, too terrified to take on that sort of responsibility, that she'd fled far away from the scene, leaving her injured friend there with no one to help her. At this rate, Almasa really wouldn't be surprised if she managed to run into the female again and found out that Shadai now hated her. She'd abandoned her, after all....

Then there had been the war. Although Almasa had tried to stay away from the battle as much as possible- it hadn't really concerned her, after all, her being a loner- but she still heard news of it all around, in conversations and words uttered in howls by the packs. After the battle, Almasa had traveled there and had been horrified at how many bodies had been lying limply in the long grass, their life fluids staining the ground, never to rise again.... shuddering, Almasa rolled over and slowly got to her feet, shaking her coat as she did so to rid it of any plant seeds or insects that she might have picked up during her short nap. There was no use in dwelling on things that had happened in the past, after all. She needed to focus on calling the alpha and possibly enrolling into the pack now, not a long-ago battle that was unlikely to ever repeat itself. Trotting slowly towards the border, a million different thoughts raced through Almasa's head as she neared the looming pines.

What if these wolves kill me upon sight? What they refuse to enroll me? Where will I go then? Sure, life as a loner could be fairly exciting, but.... it was fairly hard to survive out there, with every wolf trying to fend for himself. Starvation and sickness hit often, and there really wasn't anything that a loner could do other than to just sit around and wait for the inevitable. And Almasa wasn't so sure that she wanted to go back to that life. Trying to shake all of the thoughts out of her head, Almasa slowed to a stop as she stood at the very edge of the border, staring out into the pine forest but seeing and smelling nothing. Still, she was fairly nervous about joining. What was the alpha like? Was he or she strict or gentle but firm? Did he or she allow herself some hang time, or did this alpha always keep up a tough mask? Well, there was only one way to find out if the alpha would come running once she set a single paw over the border.... and so Almasa did just that, warily raising a single front paw and placing it over the border line.

As several minutes passed and nothing happened, however, Almasa became increasingly exasperated with herself, shaking her head disapprovingly as she finally realized that there was nothing to be afraid of in this territory and that she had probably been overreacting towards nothing at all. "Oh, thank Fenris, I'm not dead." she muttered sarcastically, drawing her paw back into her stomach as she did so. Well, maybe it was about time that she finally howled and requested permission to join, since just sitting here wasn't about to get her anywhere. Drawing back her head, Almasa let out a long, drawn-out howl into the air, her flute-like voice ringing out across the valley. "I call to the Alpha of these lands, seeking nothing more than to journey upon your territory. I mean no harm to you or your pack, I simply wish to meet with you to discuss possible enrollment into your ranks." There, that should do it. Not only did it clearly state what Almasa's buisness was upon these lands, but it also stated that she meant no harm to the alpha, only being a simple loner, seeking to walk upon these sacred lands and perhaps gain membership.

Lowering her gaze, Almasa slowly licked her fur to get it into proper shape, wondering what she was going to do next. Should she indeed wait for the alpha to answer her? And if the alpha took too long, would she be permitted to travel upon the lands either way? Either way, this was turning out to be way more complicated then the Gray female had hoped. Maybe I should wait around and see what happens... Almasa thought, sitting down onto the grass once more, letting out a low sigh as she tried her best to patiently wait for the alpha of these lands to answer her call. Would the alpha accept her reasoning, or chase her off upon sight of her? For now, all Almasa could do was wait and hope.

[miki]

The sound of heavy paws running along the earth’s surface sounded as the eager Alphess ran through the forest to the borders of her lands. The ground made soft squishing noises below her weight. It was raining, and it was actually very hard to see in the dense forest. Her tongue lolled from the side of her mouth as she panted softly, her tail wagged happily behind her despite the depressing rains.

Ever since Kadhi had returned home the Tundra female had been excessively happy. With the recent call of a loner wishing to possibly join her pack she couldn’t help but be over excited. ‘I hope they are nice!’ She thought as she weaved through the endless sea of trees. Her mind raced with the memories of all the terrible things that had happened in the last few months but just recently things were starting to look up.

Although… There were still some bumps to be smoothed out in the pack itself…

Suddenly the copper eyed femora slowed down to a trot and soon stopped all together. She paused to take the time to catch her breath and smooth out her fur. Licking down her shoulder and legs she had to make sure she was presentable for this loner. She didn’t want to let them think she was some strange nut case who didn’t know what she was doing (even if that was pretty much what she was). However by now, Miki was starting to learn the ways of being an alphess. She had to keep her mind opened to every opinion her pack had to make. She had to be smart enough to be able to make certain decisions when they had to be made—even if not everyone agreed with them. That was the hardship that came with the job Xin had placed heavily upon her shoulders at the time of his death.

Taking a deep breath she aloud the soft wind to ruffle her fur, ‘I’m trying, I really am.’ She mentally thought closing her eyes to feel the wind. She may have thought she was crazy but she swore sometimes she could hear Xin’s voice on the days the winds were stronger. Much like today. Taking a slightly shaky breath the Tundra continued on towards the borders of her land only stopping once more when the sight of another came into view. The femme was black in color and seemed to be just a smidge taller than her too. Miki frowned slightly and grumbled about her short stature for her breed.

Taking a deep breath, Meikou made her presence known to the stranger. Her expression remained neutral while her stature showed that of dominance as she held her head and tail high, ears erect and forward. These things still had to be thought about and did not come naturally quite yet but she was getting used to it. “My name is Meikou, I am the alphess of these lands…” She trailed off slightly her eyes taking in the other before her, she did not sense any danger from this other wolf but she could never be too sure. “And you are…?” She questioned with a raise of an eye brow.

Ooc: crap post and sorry for the very long wait. v.v)

[almasa]

Almasa sighed deeply, glancing forlornly over the border as she did so. She must have been waiting in this Fenris-forsaken forest for hours, and yet no one had even bothered to show up. Well, I intend to give that alpha a piece of my mind. He or she has no right to keep me waiting here! the young female snarled silently. The alpha or alphess of these lands may have been terribly busy with other duties, yes, but how hard was it to take a moment out of your time to permit a stranger to meet you in person? Though Almasa may not have had a single idea as how hard it was to be an alpha, she knew that an alpha who promptly greeted guests was an excellent alpha, and one who did not was destined to fall from their position. Sighing, Almasa rested her chin on her paws, continuing to stare rather neutrally out over the landscape, watching as the tall pine trees swayed in the breeze softly and gazing in awe up at the tall, snow-covered peaks in the distance.

“My name is Meikou, I am the alphess of these lands…”

Almasa nearly succeeded in having the crap scared out of her when another voice spoke up from the underbrush. Whipping her whole body a complete 360 degrees, she stared down a copper-colored female that had emerged from the trees, her head and tail held high. Almasa studied the female's features, taking in her scent so that she would be able to memorize it. She's awfully pretty, her coat is a nice color... but no one is as pretty as me. the Grey female thought rather vainly, smoothing down her fur as she did so. "Greetings, Alphess Meikou." she spoke in as kind of a tone as she could muster, nodding her head in the direction of the alphess to acknowledge her. Almasa took advantage of the moment of silence that had passed between them to study the alphess just a bit more. She appeared to be some sort of tundra breed, her fur being slightly fuller than Almasa's in order to withstand the brutal temperatures of the mountains. Although Almasa really didn't mind the cold- it was traveling up the mountains that she was worried about. A good number of the peaks still had snow at their tops, and those slopes looked like they would get awfully slippery during the middle of winter.

“And you are…?”

Almasa was snapped out of her musings by Meikou speaking once more, asking her for her name. "I am known as Almasa. It's a pleasure to meet you, Meikou." she spoke, watching as the Aldgar alphess fidgeted about slightly, her voice trailing off at the end of her sentence. For an alphess, she doesn't seem very confident. Maybe she was just recently appointed to the position? That would certainly explain why she had taken so long to respond to Almasa's call. But now was not the time to dwell on past mistakes. The young female spoke up once more, choosing each word carefully and quickly. "So... would there be any chance of joining this pack of yours?" Now it was Almasa's turn to fidget about. What Meikou decided to say could change her entire history from this point onward. The only question was, what would be the alphess's answer?

[ichigo]

Ichigo lifted up her head suddenly. She had been sniffing around the snow, looking for some kind of prey to catch because she hadn't eaten for quite awhile. But the tundra wolf stopped suddenly when she smelled a strange sent. Her yellow eyes scanned the area, observing every nook and cranny of the snow looking for another life form.
I think it's ... other wolves Pondering this , the female smelled again but this time more deeply and she concentrated.
It smells like two other wolves.. but the smell is faint. I don't know... But how could this conversation-lover simply pass up the offer to go talk to other wolves? Well, she didn't that's for sure. Ichigo trotted into the distance and the whole entire time smelling so she wouldn't get lost and never find these wolves. It had been about three months since the she-wolf spoke to another wolf. If you know Ichigo well then three months with no talking is like three years. So, her tail was up high and happy for this wonderful opportunity. She continued to walk across the cold snow hills, eventually the walk turned into a run. She was in a rush, she must meet these strangers. The wind flew through her thick, black-colored fur making it wind blown and messy. Her face remained blank the entire time she ran, as she was pondering what to do now.
Just go along with it.. and see where it goes. That's what I'll do now.. And if all else fails, then I guess that's okay

The scent of the two wolves soon became stronger, and Ichigo slowed down to a walk. Two small dots in the distance slowly grew into bigger dots and started to take the shape of two wolves. One was copper-colored and small, and nice fur. The other was the same color as Ichigo and a bit taller than the copper wolf, possibly a Tundra and had nice fur also. Both of them appeared to be a female.
She stopped as soon as almost all the details of the two other wolves where visible so she could lick her fur clean and smooth it down nicely.
"There" she cooed to herself when her fur was cleaned and groomed.
She walked slowly toward the wolves, tacking great care not to ruin her newly- groomed fur. The other dark wolf spoke,
"So... would there be any chance of joining this pack of yours?"

Ichigo stood and watched. So the copper colored wolf must be an alphess.
I think... her brain was rattling with excitement.

"Yes" she breathed happily "Is there any chance of joining this pack? I wouldn't mind joining myself..." she smiled and sat down near the wolves.

"Oh, I'm Ichigo by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you"

That will do for now.. she smiled friendly on the outside, but in her head she was really enjoying the act. Well it wasn't all an act.. but the tundra over did it for her own enjoyment.

ooc: I hope really I'm not barging in or anything <.<

[miki]

A small greeting and a dip of her head, Meikou couldn’t help but smile slightly. Dipping her own head in acknowledgement the Tundra femora tilted her head to the side a bit as silence floated over the two’s conversation. Meikou did not feel the silence was awkward as the two just stood there in the light rain; it was in a way kind of refreshing. Meikou had always enjoyed the rain when she was little and it was still welcomed even now.

"I am known as Almasa. It's a pleasure to meet you, Meikou."

Meikou perked up slightly at these words and smiled at the femora who called herself Almasa. “The pleasure’s all mine.” She smiled at the Grey wolf before her and she could feel butterflies in her stomach like she did when she accepted Tanner into her pack. Slowly they where rebuilding Aldgar one new pack member at a time. Her tail swayed slightly as she relaxed some.

"So... would there be any chance of joining this pack of yours?"

Meikou nearly grinned from ear to ear at these words. ‘Yes!’ She mentally cheered for joy and before she could actually say something aloud enough entered the area and Meikou was taken a bit off guard as the new femora surprised her. Meikou blinked at the newcomer as she asked about joining too and slowly her confusion faded away and she felt as if she could jump for joy. ‘Two new members, this is my lucky day~’ She purred mentally her tail swaying more.

‘Introductions first Meikou.’ She mentally couched herself before clearing her throat before addressing the new wolf. “My name’s Meikou, and these are The Oriens, home of Aldgar pack. I am the Alphess here.” She said nodding slightly as she tried to be formal but casual. Scuffing her paw in the snow slightly she smiled a bit sheepishly. Her demeanor taking a complete one-eighty. “We… actually don’t have many members now, you see our last Alpha died and the pack kind of fell apart after that…” She trailed off sadness temporality taking over her features before she perked up again, shaking off the bad memories. “But! We’re trying to rebuild ourselves, slowly but surely!” She grinned at the two happily.

She took a small breather before continuing on talking. “Our last Alpha has left me in charge and I’ve been trying my best. My beta Kadhi is the oldest member of our pack even before I was here…” She said before frowning slightly. “Oh, I’m sorry; I’m rambling a bit now, aren’t I?” She blushed under her fur, mentally kicking herself for getting so wrapped up in her own talking. These two femoras were waiting to be accepted into the pack and here she was making them wait. “Anyways, Almasa, Ichigo, I’d love it if you two would join Aldgar pack! The more members we have the better.” She smiled at them with extra pip.

After giving them a moment’s time to process the information she tilted her head slightly. “You two will need ranks… Um, could you tell me a little bit about your skills? Or your former ranks in a previous pack? It’ll really help a lot.”

‘Wait until Kadhi sees I brought home two new pack members, boy wont he be surprised!’

Ooc: Oh no, you’re not intruding on anything. ^^ As you can see, Meikou is ecstatic.

[almasa]

“The pleasure’s all mine.”

As Meikou smiled at her warmly, Almasa began to relax slightly. If the Aldgar alphess was actually bothering to be this kind to her, then that must be a good sign.... right? The black wolfess sure hoped so, she really didn't want to go back to a life of scavenging for food and sleeping in thorn thickets all night long. She needed the security of the pack, she needed someone to talk to.... how long had it been since she'd last come into contact with another wolf? Far too long, in Almasa's opinion. She was the kind of wolf that pined for company, longed for someone to talk to, even if that someone ended up being the most anti-social wolf on the face of the planet. She was just glad that Meikou was here to take her mind off of other matters, otherwise she never would have caught the entrance of yet another female into the scene. Turning slightly, Almasa spotted a black female emerging from the shelter of a nearby bush, excited lyrics escaping her maw as she did so.

"Yes.... is there any chance of joining this pack? I wouldn't mind joining myself...oh, I'm Ichigo by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Almasa couldn't help but feel jealous of this newcomer for stealing the show. I was here first. she thought, snarling lightly under her breath. However, Almasa really wasn't one to hold grudges against another wolf. Other than her sister Lamenta, the Grey wolfess was much more likely to just forgive and forget when it came to negative encounters. Giving a slight nod of her head to Ichigo, Almasa turned back to Meikou, eager to see what she had to say about possibly joining the pack. The black wolfess was about to burst with excitement- the sooner the alphess broke the tension that was circling the three like a dark cloud, the better. Come on already.... the young female whined to herself, shifting her feet nervously as she stared down at her paws, frowning at her claws as if annoyed with how puny they looked. Shaking her head in disdain, Almasa glanced up at Meikou as she began to speak once more, motioning for her to continue with her speech. As Meikou started to give them a bit of the pack's history, the Grey female simply sat back and gave the Aldgar alphess her full attention.

“My name’s Meikou, and these are The Oriens, home of Aldgar pack. I am the Alphess here....we… actually don’t have many members now, you see our last Alpha died and the pack kind of fell apart after that…but we’re trying to rebuild ourselves, slowly but surely!”

Almasa was surprised at this news. There had been a recent death of an alpha? No wonder Meikou seemed so inexperienced with her alpha position.... this could mean potential trouble. "Your former alpha was killed? How long ago was this?" Almasa asked, a touch of nervousness gracing her lyrics. If the death had happened recently, then maybe this place wasn't the best pack option for Almasa. If the killer had already gotten his or her paws on the former alphess, who's to say whoever it was wouldn't choose a packmate as a target next? Maybe coming here hadn't been the wisest choice in the world.... oh well. Now was not the time to dwell on past mistakes, Almasa thought yet again. Glancing over at Ichigo, who seemed equally as nervous as her, the ebony wolfess offered her a dazzling smile of encouragement, her diamond-white teeth glistening in the bright sun, before turning her full attention back on to Meikou.

“Our last Alpha has left me in charge and I’ve been trying my best. My beta Kadhi is the oldest member of our pack even before I was here…oh, I’m sorry; I’m rambling a bit now, aren’t I?Anyways, Almasa, Ichigo, I’d love it if you two would join Aldgar pack! The more members we have the better.”

That was it? No right of passage ceremonies, no proving herself in any way to the alphess? In a way, it was a relief to Almasa. At least this meant she wouldn't have to work her ass off just to be accepted into the pack. "Thank you, Alphess Meikou. You have no idea how much this means to me..." Almasa managed to stammer out before sheepishly smiling and sitting back down, staring at her paws once more. This was it. She was once again part of a pack, and for once it was a pack that she didn't utterly despise. No more would she be known as Almasa the heartless killer, she would be known as a proud individual that was part of a great and noble pack of Anikira. Smiling to herself at that thought, Almasa was suddenly snapped out of her musings by loose lyrics escaping the alphess's maw.

“You two will need ranks… um, could you tell me a little bit about your skills? Or your former ranks in a previous pack? It’ll really help a lot.”

Almasa froze in her tracks, gaping. There's no way I can tell them about my history. They'd never accept me then... she thought, glancing about rapidly as she tried to come up with a proper cover-up. "I'd rather not tell you about my position in a previous pack... I wasn't too fond of it, truthfully..." That was all the young female dared to say about the matter, sitting back and uttering one last phrase before falling silent. "I'm excellent at fighting, that much I can tell you. Hunting I'm not so sure about...." My technique could probably use some work.... Almasa thought, remembering how crappily she had taken down a deer during her first months upon this island. Nodding to Ichigo, Almasa sat down, thus turning the story over to her. Besides, at the moment Almasa was in more of an observing mood than a speaking one.

[ichigo]

“My name’s Meikou, and these are The Oriens, home of Aldgar pack. I am the Alphess here....we… actually don’t have many members now, you see our last Alpha died and the pack kind of fell apart after that…but we’re trying to rebuild ourselves, slowly but surely!”

The Alphess rambled on quite happily.
Wow Ichigo thought with a mixture if surprise and interest. Meikou seemed... somehow new to this whole alpha/alphess business.
A inexperienced Alphess means an inexperienced pack Ichigo was right in a few ways, wrong in others. Yes if a alphess was inexperienced then the pack could be as well. Time without a proper leader, it just wouldn't teach others all too well. But if this alphess was new, that's another story. Change is something that is usually unwanted but it also has it's benefits. So both good and bad, yes.
Ichigo thought about Aldgar pack.. she had heard the copper-female call the other dark wolf Almasa, and then the alphess was Meikou. So that was just two members she knew so far. Just then, Almasa spoke.
"Your former alpha was killed? How long ago was this?" she seemed kind of surprised as well. Ichigo thought not much of it, death is a very natural part of life.
“Our last Alpha has left me in charge and I’ve been trying my best. My beta Kadhi is the oldest member of our pack even before I was here…oh, I’m sorry; I’m rambling a bit now, aren’t I?Anyways, Almasa, Ichigo, I’d love it if you two would join Aldgar pack! The more members we have the better.” Meikou looked happy. The tundra female Ichigo was happy as well. Yes! she cheered mentally. A pack offers safety, protection. And if Almasa was in too, then everyone would be safer. The more members in a pack the better. This was Ichigo's opinion. She always thought that if everyone word equally in a pack then everyone would be safer. Balance. An always important part of life.
"Thank you, Alphess Meikou. You have no idea how much this means to me..." The other new member of Aldgar stammerd , just before she sat down and smiled a bit sheepishly. Alphess Meikou spoke once again,
“You two will need ranks… um, could you tell me a little bit about your skills? Or your former ranks in a previous pack? It’ll really help a lot.”
Since Ichigo was one to wait until last to speak (Unless she was angry or very upset , of course) she waited peacefully for Almasa to state her former rank and skills.
I simply must tell them about the giant deer I caught Her brain rattled with excitement. About my former rank? They will need to know my parent's ranks since this is my first pack, other than my parent's pack. But that doesn't matter since I didn't really have a rank there yet anyway an-
Her thoughts where interrupted by more talk by the black-colored grey wolf
"I'd rather not tell you about my position in a previous pack... I wasn't too fond of it, truthfully..." She paused, then changed tone "I'm excellent at fighting, that much I can tell you. Hunting I'm not so sure about...
So this one is not so experienced with hunting? Ichigo thought somewhat vainly. So I guess I'll just have to tell them what I have to say.. she took a deep breath of the cold mountain air, and began to speak.
"When I was a young pup, I practiced hunting for the longest time. I caught a healthy male deer. Let me tell you, it was difficult. I don't fight very much.. so I'm not too sure of that... My parents where Alphas, but this is my first pack really" That was about all she had to say. Although she was a talker, Ichigo didn't like rambling for hours on end. And saving her voice for when she met the rest of the pack seemed like a pretty good idea to the female. First impressions leave a permanent mark on the relationship between two wolves. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief.
Today, I joined a pack. And although it might not be the best one out there.. I am a little bit safer than I was. I have new pack mates to chat with and as long as I stay in this pack I will never be alone again! But words where just words. They don't mean much...

[miki]

Meikou was relieved the two did not mind her rambling and listened to her constant chatter as she gave them a briefing over Aldgar’s history. These two seemed like real nice femmes and she was glad to have them as the newest members of her pack. Meikou sat down with her tail curled around her feet, swaying it lightly as she smiled at her two new members. With them they had a total of six wolves including her. ‘Wow, six… But I guess it is something.’ She thought to herself, tilting her head slightly. There was still Syren but she had no idea where that femme ran of to.

She then realized how the pack was now pretty much even when it came to genders. On the brute side she had Jay, Kadhi and Tanner and on the female side she had herself, and these two: Almasa and Ichigo.

"Your former alpha was killed? How long ago was this?"

Meikou blinked at the question and frowned a little, her eyes glancing away as she suddenly found the ground a lot more interesting then the two black femoras before her. “Um, it’s been a few months I must admit… Not too long ago, but it’s been a little while…” She trailed off trying to make as much sense as she possibly could. However, she felt she was only confusing herself. She wasn’t exactly sure how long it had been since Xin’s death. It had been quite some time but the weight of it still lied heavy in their hearts.

However, when Meikou accepted them both they both seemed rather joyous and pleased to be now a part of Aldgar. Meikou grinned, also happy. “I am just glad Aldgar is growing…” She said softly, before listening to the other two tell her about their old ranks and skills. Meikou mulled them over for a moment.

‘Almasa is a good fighter, huh? She’ll make a good warrior then, and then Ichigo can be a hunter along with Tanner…’ She smiled, that sounded about right. Though there was a piece of information Ichigo had given her she was interested about. “Your parents were alphas?” While the idea was not too uncommon seeing as it was mostly alpha pairs in the packs that bred she was somewhat fascinated. She had been born in a pack but to two members, not alphas. ‘My best friend was the alphas daughter thought…’ She thought of her old friend and thought of how much she missed her and her family.

Shaking the thoughts away, she smiled back at the two. “Okay, Almasa for now you will be a warrior, and Ichigo you will be a hunter. If you want higher ranks you will have to prove yourselves to me in time!” She barked out softly, with a bit of a playful grin, though she was serious. That was how it was usually done wasn’t it? Wolves had to prove to be promoted.

The thought of mating then came to mind again. Alphas usually only bred, but currently Meikou had no mate. ‘I suppose if anyone wanted to mate I would not mind… I guess as long as they told me first.’ She thought with a slight frown, before blushing a little under her fur at the little naughty thoughts that lingered in her mind. She quickly shook those thoughts away. She’ll deal with it when the time came to deal with it!

[almasa]

“Um, it’s been a few months I must admit… Not too long ago, but it’s been a little while… I am just glad Aldgar is growing…”

Almasa was able to breathe a sigh of relief as Meikou told her that there hadn't been any trouble in the territory for several months now. Although she knew she shouldn't have felt so reassured, the Grey female had more important matters to dwell on. She had a pack now, she had a home, and that was all that mattered. Though, she did note that Meikou had seemed rather uncomfortable with talking about their alpha's death, and so she made a mental note to herself to not question further about the subject. She didn't want to sever any relationships that she had with these wolves, after all, she had just barely gotten to know their alphess, who knows how touchy the rest of the pack was on that subject? Choosing to nod simply to the Aldgar alphess instead of commenting, Almasa sat back once more, pawing at the grass absent-mindedly, as she watched a hawk fly overhead. To be honest, Almasa was getting rather impatient with just waiting around like this. She wanted to see her new lands, she wanted to meet the other pack members! But instead, she was stuck in the forest, listening to Ichigo tell her story.

"When I was a young pup, I practiced hunting for the longest time. I caught a healthy male deer. Let me tell you, it was difficult. I don't fight very much.. so I'm not too sure of that... my parents were Alphas, but this is my first pack really."

Almasa had to try her absolute hardest to keep a loud chuckle from escaping her maw. She calls that a history? Why can't she tell us something interesting about her past, instead of blabbering away about this or that? the ebony female thought to herself before shaking her head slightly, she hadn't revealed much about her either and it was rude to be doing a silent commentary on everything a person was saying. Still, Almasa couldn't help the small snort that left her maw, watching Ichigo closely. The female didn't really seem too fixed in the conversation, Almasa noticed. It was more like she was off in her own little world, not even paying attention at all to what the others were saying. She's never going to become a hunter with that attitude. What if she zones out in the middle of a hunt or something? the ebony female thought, shaking her head. Somehow, she didn't think that she was going to like Ichigo that much. Oh well, you couldn't get along with everyone in the world, which was a fact that Almasa had learned well over the years. Turning, she directed her full attention back to Meikou as the alphess spoke up once more.

“Your parents were alphas.... okay, Almasa, for now you will be a warrior, and Ichigo you will be a hunter. If you want higher ranks you will have to prove yourselves to me in time!”

Big deal. So were mine. Almasa thought, growling under her breath at Meikou's sudden interest in Ichigo. This female was really starting to get on Almasa's nerves, what with always stealing the spotlight from her and showing up in the territory unannounced. Almasa had been taught by her parents to always howl at the border before going into another pack's territory, not to prance around inside the borders like you owned the entire portion of land. However, as Meikou announced their ranks, Almasa cut Ichigo to the chase by speaking up first. "I accept the position of warrior, Alphess Meikou..." she spoke, dipping her head to the Aldgar alphess as a sign of thanks. "I have no wish for a higher rank, but I will try my hardest to prove myself as a proud warrior to you." That was the truth, Almasa would do her absolute best in filling the warrior position. She would make her new alphess proud, and possibly learn a few things from whoever was in charge of the warriors, if there was a wolf who commanded them. Rising up, Almasa spoke once more in a soft monotone before falling silent again. "Now, if you don't mind, I would very much like to meet the rest of your pack. I would like to see just what kind of wolves I'll be in contact with in my new home." she spoke, wagging her tail behind her slowly as she awaited the alphess's reply.