Another Life Direction

[skinner]

It had been quite some time since the salt and peppered male had sensed another wolf. Over a year, at least. His nose twitched with the scent of an unfamiliar pack, and the aroma was growing stronger. He was headed in their direction, but his paws were more eager than the rest of him. His head thought bitterly toward unknown pack wolves. He was not optimistic about this, but the quickest way to continue his current direction would be through the mountains. Accordingly, he was bothered with the unfortunate need of asking permission to pass through the pack's territory.

Skinner's large figure loped gracefully down the side of a steep hill. His paws lost footing closer to the bottom, where a few small rocks gave way under his weight. He stumbled only slightly, and caught himself on his next step. He had been born in a mountain's cave, and he usually knew his way around cliffs and the like, but during his travels he had seen mostly flattened plains, gently rolling forests, and small hills. He hadn't been through the tough rocks, chilly climate, and elevated sights that he was used to in a while. He thought about his homeland fondly, and how these wolves were lucky to have a place similar to it.

Skinner's pace began to slow as he reached the base of the mountain. He was, perhaps, a mile into the pack's territory now. Their scent was stronger here than from the top of the hill. Skinner glanced back from where he had been moments ago. He considered going back. He really was not interested in meeting these wolves. He could do fine on his own. Maybe there was a way to go around the pack lands? He could find shelter and food in the chilly mountains. He attempted to convince himself he didn't need to be here.

He turned around and faced the evergreen forest ahead of him. Afternoon sunlight peaked through the forest, and dappled the needle flooded ground where it could. He sensed it had rained not too long ago. The dampness still hung in the air, but the ground was mostly solid. His nostrils filled with the familiar scent of pine and rain, then the wolves. There was a small breeze. It was barely enough to move the tips of his coat, but it was pleasant all the same.

Skinner had come such a long way. As he gazed into the forest that reminded him of home, it seemed a shame to turn around and head back...

Feeling bitter about what he was about to do, Skinner took a breath, raised his head, and howled. His voice was deep and rugged. The howl was low, crescendo-ed as it grew to a medium tone, then slowly rescinded back into the depths of his throat.

The wolf did not sit, but waited stiffly for one of the pack wolves to answer his call.

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[atrb=background,http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/GreenEyedMonster101/Anikira/Requests/KidMid.png?t=1344230995] Kiddo had been doing boarder patrol since his lead warrior had gone MIA recently and someone had to get it done. He hated boarder patrol. It was the least productive use of his time. That was why he had a member to do it for him. Doing someone else's job was something that he had not planned on doing with his day today but, he was going to do it anyway. Even with the sheild of the mountains, it was crucial that patrol got done. Today seemed like a good day to do it too since not an hour since had had started, a howl came to his ears. It was low and slowly had gotten louder. It sounded like another male. Kiddo wasn't far from the site that the howl came from. It sounded like the wolf was near the mountains. He had better stay there. he was not going to run through the forrest looking for him today and even if he had to, there would be no conversation. Kiddo was normally a decent wolf to be around as long as other wolves followed the rules. The scent of the other male got stronger as he was approaching. When the peppered male came into view, Kiddo's half-tail shot straight up and his head raised as well. From the looks of the other male, this was not going to be an easy meeting. I am the alpha of Amar, what brings you to my territoy? Kiddo's raspy low sounding voice came blandly off of his tongue with litle to no emotion as he waited to hear his reponse. Kiddo appreciated a little boldness in a wolf but only, if he knew how to show respect as well. These were his lands and he would not be disrespected in them.

[skinner]

After a few minutes, Skinner gave up on wondering if someone would answer him. If they hadn't howled out to him by now, they probably were not going to. This did not bother the middle-aged wolf. He had learned to be patient. He might have stood with tension etched in his body, but he could handle the wait. He knew it would not be long. Someone would come.

Luckily, it was hardly more than ten minutes before another wolf approached. Immediately, Skinner knew it was the Alpha. One could not mistake the high raised tail and ears.

Knowing his place, Skinner let his own stiffness fall away. He dropped his tail into a more relaxed position, flipped his ears back, and lowered his head to reveal the back of his neck. He was not here to get into a fight with these wolves, nor was he here to just roll over. He would be cordial, but he wasn't going to tuck his tail and roll over. Skinner had earned more than that in his life, and he figured this wolf, even though he was the Alpha, ought to know it straight off.

In a gruff voice suited to his bulky figure, the black male said, "My name is Skinner. I was hoping to just pass through- with your permission."

After the words left his muzzle, Skinner returned to his original position. His ears flipped forward, and he lifted his head. He did keep his tail low, to try and show he wouldn't give the other male any trouble.

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[atrb=background,http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/GreenEyedMonster101/Anikira/Requests/KidMid.png?t=1344230995] Kiddo watched as the stiffness in the other male seemed to melt away. Good. Kiddo remained in his dominant stance. He was however, pleasantly suprised. This may end up being less violent than what he had originally thought. The male was older, older than Hadrian by the looks of him. But, not incredibly old, the male probably had at least four more years in him but, that was being stingy with the number. Kiddo knew that the male had backbone in him from when he had first arrived so, he knew that the guesture was puerly respect which of course, he deservered. The male's words however, were a bit confusing. He wants to go through the lands? That's odd. There was only an ocean on the other side of the territory but, to each his own he guessed. I will escort you through the territory if that is truely what you want. He wated to escort him for several reasons. The first being that Amar was having a bear problem at the moment and it wouldn't look well if an innocent passer was killed by one in his lands without being escorted. The second being he didn't want the male stealing from him. He didn't know the wolf well and he was not a gullable wolf. But, I do have to tell you that there is only an ocean on the other side. He knew that either the wolf didn't know the island very well or, that he wanted to kill himself in the ocean. Though, the first one made a bit more sense given his body language.

[skinner]

Skinner eyed the other male curiously when the Alpha did not press him for a more submissive stance. Truly, he did not want to cause any trouble, but he found it odd that the male did not exert his authoritative power upon first sight of a new wolf: to put them in their place straight off. Fir Skinner, it was a good thing he hadn't tried. It would have been difficult to keep his temper down. Skinner knew he was older than this male. The other's scent reverberated youth, and Skinner could see he was fit. But Skinner was confident in himself. He already considered himself more mature than the Alpha before him; age did that thinking for him. However, he would never hold that against the younger male. Some things can only be learned with time. Skinner, believing he already had this male one-upped in that department, considered himself of higher stature, seeing as how they seemed physically matched. Therefore, this Alpha ought to respect him. If the Alpha had been bothered with Skinner's lack of thorough submission, well, that would have made the older male quite miffed. Skinner was not a pleasant adversary. Perhaps the other male had some wiseness about him already?

The Alpha went on to explain that across his territory there was nothing but an ocean. Skinner frowned. If that were true, he just found out there was no where else to go. He had had no idea that he was on an island. This news certainly twisted his plans up. True, they had not been detailed plans, but Skinner was uncertain of what to do. There seemed no point to continue this direction now.

He stared off behind the Alpha, imagining the sound of the surf crashing against a sandy beach. He could almost smell the saltwater as he remembered the initial swim to the island. The awful sensation of saltwater in his lungs, the Fear of drowning being the only thing that kept him moving. Then getting to land and collapsing. Lying there thinking he was going to die because he could no longer move. His while body aching from the trip. Skinner adjusted his weight as he remembered the scorching white sand under his paws when he had finally convinced himself to get up...

With distaste at the very thought of the ocean, Skinner promptly decided he could live without it for the rest of his life.

Mountains were better. Skinner looked around, bringing himself away from wind, waves, and beaches. He familiarized himself again with the scent of pine, crunchy, needle-y firm ground, steep slopes, and musky rain.

He liked it better here.

"If the ocean is ahead, I'd rather turn and leave. I have no desire to see it again." he growled out. Skinner thought a second more, then added, "Perhaps, if you have need of another wolf, I could remain here?"

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[atrb=background,http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/GreenEyedMonster101/Anikira/Requests/KidMid.png?t=1344230995] There were several reasons why Kiddo hadn't pressed the male for a more submissive position. Usually, he would have, no doubt about it. He didn't take others randomly coming into his territory and pretending that they owned it well but, he didn't see the older male as a threat. By the looks of it he was older than his Shaman who was already having troubles with mountains and perhaps joint issues. The only reason why he knew that was because of his comment about the whole mountain thing earlier. Kiddo was a reasonable wolf usually and he wasn't going to punish Hadrian for being old. The older male in front of him may have had life experience but, he had youth. His body was better equipped for a fight. When Skinner frowned when he spoke of only the ocean on the other side of this territory, he was expecting him to just leave without much of anything else. Kiddo had figured out that this was an island about six months after arriving here. Life alone did that to a wolf. They learned things. It would be a mistake for the older male to believe that he was ignorant or without life experience. Kiddo experienced a lot with his life and even though he was still learning, it did not mean that he was a bad alpha or any less of a wolf than anyone else here. Kiddo enjoyed the water and the ocean though the salty air did get into his lungs and nose and he couldn't get it out for several days. He liked the crashing waves and watching the fish swim in the water. Kiddo wasn't a fan of fish so, he never really ate them. Besides the fact that they stank horribly. Though, he did have to say that he loved the mountains even more. He loved cool or even cold temperatures and the smells of the forests around him. He loved the rugged smells and sights. The trees became home to him as well as the high peaks of the mountains around the outer territory became familiar and loved sights. This land was better than all the others, in his mind anyway. Was it huge? No. Was it big enough to sustain a pack? Yes. Skinner's next words were expected. The wolf wanted to leave, and it sounded like he would go without a fight. His words following those words though were a bit unexpected. He hadn't taken Skinner as the type that wanted to follow others and be in a pack. He thought of his more as a loner but, a pack could never have enough members in it. Especially with the lack of wolves that were interested in joining packs these days. Or, maybe it was just a lack of wolves. Either way, he had heard that many pack in the surrounding areas were lacking members and he had been blessed for once with wolves that wanted to be here. He thought for a moment before responding to Skinner's request. What skills do you have to offer my pack? There were several positions still open but, whether he would give one of them to this wolf right away was another thing. He had given Hadrian his rank right away because of his attitude and respect, Kiddo felt like he could trust the Mexican male from the first day that he met him. But, he didn't trust the peppered male quite so easily. He needed to be sure of his loyalty and respect before he would give him power, if he would give him power. ((OOC: sorry this took forever, i totally forgot about this thread -kicks self- ))

[skinner]

A grin creeped across Skinner's maw as the Alpha asked him what he could bring by joining the pack. His respect for the wolf increased as he recalculated the male's wise-ness. Only fools admitted strangers who could do more damage than good, and it pleased Skinner to know that if he were to follow this wolf, he would not be the subordinate of an idiot.

"I may look old, but I don't feel it. I am capable of more than I seem. I have been an Alpha before, so I have experience in leading a pack.
I can also fend for myself- no constant supervision required. I am comfortable in any position: hunter, scout, warrior, body-guard... Though to be honest, I prefer the tasks set for the warrior lifestyle. The exercise has done well for me."

And if wolves could gesture towards themselves, Skinner would have done it then.

Skinner believed he felt more youthful than other wolves his age because of the rigorous training he performed. It was not uncommon for him to go for a run twice a day, or chase a rabbit just because he could. He would wrestle with his former pack mates to keep his fighting skills up. And swimming helped build up the extra muscles that didn't get the attention running and practicing provided. The extra activity Skinner pursued left him quite fit. Unfortunately, he was not in the same shape he had been since he left his former territory. He had become a little bulkier and less muscular due to his constant travels and lack of routine, but he was not a feeble old man.

Skinner's gold eyes watched the Alpha closely as he added, "I have heard of your pack being spoken in the unclaimed lands of this country, and I am willing to follow you."

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[atrb=background,http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/GreenEyedMonster101/Anikira/Requests/KidMid.png?t=1344230995] He couldn't quite decide if the smile on Skinner's face was going to be a good thing or a bad thing. Usually, when a wolf smiled it meant that they thought that they had something useful for him. Whether that was actually true or not, was yet to be seen. Kiddo didn't have to wait long for an answer from the peppered brute. Ah, another wolf with skills. Fabulous. It seemed that every wolf that came here had skills. Well, he guessed there was a reason behind wolves saying that they had them. They didn't want to seem useless to a pack. They wanted an alpha to see them as a good addition to the family and the area. The part where he said that he had experience being an alpha gave him mixed feelings. Would this wolf be able to take orders from another? Would he be able to realize that his position was different now? Kiddo ran a pretty tight ship. He tried to be reasonable most of the time but, when it came to jobs that he gave his members, he expected them to be done and done well without dealing with insubordination. On the other hand, he would know how to pull his own weight and keep track of himself. He would have had extensive pack experience and would know what was expected of him for the most part. This would be a gamble on Kiddo's part. This wolf seemed to have several good qualities, one of them being versatility. Experienced hunters would be needed in the looming winter ahead. He was unaware that his pack was being spoken about. He was for sure that they were in such a secluded location that no one would know anything about them. But, as long as they were saying good things so that members were still interested, he guessed he didn't mind it all that much. We will see about that. He thought to himself. He wasn't entirely sure he believed the male or that the male believed himself in his words. He thought for a moment about what to do. Amar could always use more members, especially members that supposedly had the diverse skills of Skinner. He would be useful for sure but, how well would he get along with his other members. They all seemed to have very strong personalities which, Kiddo liked in a wolf. Having so many strong personalities living together could either be the strongest most powerful pack around or, a recipe for disaster. There would only be one way to know for sure how and where Skinner would stand in the pack and that would be to test him. Very well, you will join as a subordinate and when an opportunity arises for you to show me these skills that you possess, then we will talk about perhaps a different rank. Kiddo had to give the wolf a shot. His skills were much to necessary and useful for him to turn away. Besides, if he didn't work out so well, there was always the omega position or being expelled from the pack. Skinner would need to prove himself to Kiddo before any sort of trust was to be given.