Up Where the Mountains Meet the Heavens Above

[Titan]

Clear blue eyes scoured the terrain as the large Kenai Peninsula made his way towards Vor’asa. This was all completely unfamiliar territory to him, most of his life having been spent in the jungles of Kal’dyne, and the landscape around him was like nothing he’d ever seen before. The openness had in fact been slightly disconcerting at first, but he was sure he could get used to not having to struggle through thick tropical undergrowth every time he wanted to get somewhere. The rocks here (or rather, boulders) were a bit of a bother though, and several times the traveller had had to backtrack after finding his path blocked. The brute had made it this far though, so he would be damned if he were to give up now. His paws were tired and sore from his long journey, as he’d been moving fairly quickly since the volcano had erupted, but he continued stubbornly on – each step a slow heavy beat in a steady rhythm against the cold hard ground.

Cold black nose twitched as a strange male scent suddenly intensified. Ah. Finally. He had reached the border. Titan would go no further now – not even a pawstep. He would not risk the penalty of death by wandering foolishly through claimed lands. Yeah, he was only two years of age, but he wasn’t that naïve. He’d heard of what could happen to wolves who didn’t follow the rules. So the dark-furred male stood on the loner side of the scent markers, pausing for a while as he contemplated whether this was what he really wanted to do. Similar questions had plagued his mind for many a day now – how he would go about joining a pack had been pondered over ever since he left his family – but he knew that this was an important turning point in his life and wanted to be completely and utterly sure of his decision. Once he was in, he would never turn back.

After a few more minutes and much deliberation, the large male titled his head back and let loose a long deep howl, a summoning to the alpha of the Vashti pack. There; it was done. Now all that he could do was wait. Titan stood patiently in a neutral position, not challenging, but not entirely respectful either. All he’d heard about Darius were rumours, and he would not cower before the alpha until he had judged him himself. The simple fact that Darius was alpha should have been enough for most wolves, but Titan wanted to know that this was a good strong leader before he submitted to him. He had no interest in joining a weak pack.



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[Deleted]

Kydifi's pass held nothing but heartache as Darius paced through the rocks and boulders. The few of his pack that had been unfortunate enough to get stranded here during the quakes and eruptions had met with the worst of fates. More debris than usual littered the ground, rockslides having run rampant. Navigating through such a terrain was more difficult than usual which displeased the brute to no end. It was his duty to know every nook and cranny of his territory and now the earth had changed so much he could barely tell where his borders ended and where they began. He'd have to fix that sooner rather than later.

But first he had to save an old friend. A myriad of emotion had surged through his blood when first he'd stumbled upon the body of his lead warrior. Michio was an old friend and trusted confidant. They had grown up together, learned together, sparred together. Appointing his fellow Dire as his lead warrior had been second nature and not a choice ill made. Michio thrived in the position; Darius couldn't have been more proud. But there was no escaping the boulders that tumbled from the higher ground, sliding with rapid speed onto all that lay waiting below. Michio must have been caught up in one of the slides because now he lay limp at the alpha's paws, life drained from open eyes.

The sight of his deceased friend was haunting. But no, the mighty brute could not let it get to him. Not now. He carefully kept his anguish confined to his heart as he began to dig. Strong but tired muscles pushed and prodded at the earth, shoulders shoving against boulder after boulder as he methodically dug out the corpse. Darius had put out orders to retrieve any bodies of pack mates his members managed to find. They would all of them receive a proper send off, a proper burial, a proper farewell. Michio especially deserved a funeral of the honored and Darius would not leave him to rot.

He had almost gotten the body freed when the call of a loner rang out. Such a cry was disconcerting, a further nuisance. What was it with wolves all of a sudden wanting to join? A part of his brain could rationalize it. They too had lost everything: family, friends, home. But to seek a new on in the middle of such chaos was wearing thin on his nerves. First Syren, then Amaterasu, and now this new one. Though, Darius conceded, this one sounded like a male. He needed more warriors, especially now that Michio was dead. Thus far Artos was the only one that had turned up alive.

Darius sent up a return howl, instructing the stranger to wait where he was. He'd get there eventually, as soon as he'd finished with the corpse. Though it took a little longer than he would have liked, Michio's body was finally free and he heaved his old friend up onto his back. It would be rude to drag him across the lands. Thankfully the new guy wasn't all that far off from where Michio had fallen and the trek there, though somewhat difficult, was made in decent time. The dire brute approached with raised head and tail though he set his warrior down with an almost uncharacteristic amount of care. His family was the thing he held most dear; even Kuma's worthless body would have much with tender care had she actually bothered to drop dead. Then his eyes were back on the stranger, dominance and power clear in his stance as he looked the other over. "State your business, boy." The command was direct, blunt. The brute didn't have time for idle chitchat.

[Titan]

Titan sat stone still as he waited for the alpha to arrive. He’d heard the reply call a few minutes ago, telling him to stay where he was, so that was what he was doing. Not like I’d have gone anywhere else anyway…

The howl hadn’t sounded too far away, but its owner seemed to be taking a long time getting here. Maybe he’d had to travel by an indirect route because of those blasted rocks everywhere. No matter. Titan was a fairly patient wolf, and he was content simply sitting here and observing the scenery over the border.

Eventually the one he’d been waiting for appeared in the distance, looking as if he was carrying something large and limp on his back. The approaching wolf held his head and tail high despite his burden, and there could be no doubt that this was the alpha. Then when he was near he carefully set what he was carrying down, and Titan realised it was a wolf, probably killed during the recent turmoil that had befallen Tas’alea.

Hm… Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to come here while the pack was still struggling to account for their dead and wounded… The newcomer would be cast into the background, unimportant, and pushed out as a stranger who did not share their grief. His own family was perfectly fine; although he hadn’t actually seen them since the disaster, he told himself that Ouranos must have found somewhere safe for them to hide out in. But this pack was close to where the worst of the disaster had happened, and so it was likely that many of its members had been injured. As bad as the idea of replacements sounded, Vashti needed new members if it was to remain a large strong pack, and that was where the large male believed he could be of use.

The alpha spoke almost as soon as he had unloaded the body of his packmate, not sounding as if he wanted to waste time speaking to a mere loner while more of his former packmates could be lying buried around them. But that wasn’t what made Titan pause.

Boy. He hated being called that. He hated being judged for his age! The indignation of being talked down to almost brought a snarl to his lips, but he knew that would only make him look like a cocky youngster throwing a hissy-fit. He had a feeling that he would have to control his pride more here, because at least until he had proven himself to this alpha he was merely a loner at the bottom of the social hierarchy. So he lowered his posture a little, semi-submitting to the older brute.

There was a more pressing matter to deal with – the question that he’d just been asked. “Sir, I want to join your pack.” The words were spoken confidently; the Kenai Peninsula brute was sure of his decision (although still aware that the final one rested in the paws of Darius). He figured he would wait before giving his name, explaining why he wanted to join, or describing his skills – he was curious to see which the alpha asked for first. It was not too late to back out of this yet, and he would not be rushed into doing something he might regret. All he’d really heard of this pack had been from one wolf; a she wolf probably easily intimidated by large males. Was this truly the strong capable pack she’d described, a pack which placed importance on structure and training? Blue eyes focused on a spot below the alpha’s own, awaiting the alpha’s words.



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[Deleted]

The stranger wanted to join. Darius almost snorted at the idea. Vashti was in ruins, his lands crumbling and his numbers decimated. So few wolves had been found alive and he was doing everything in his power to ensure that those that did remain stayed that way. The last thing he needed was to be digging up any more corpses. And on top of that, new members were the last thing he needed baring down on. him. They needed to be educated in the ways of Vashti, tested, trained. He didn't have time for it.

But his numbers were weak and he needed every abled body he could find. A discerning glance appraised the stranger's body. He was large, well muscled, and seemed to be in shape though fur was often misleading. With Artos as his only remaining warrior, he needed more strength and power on his side. He needed to build up his defenses before predators decided his wolves were easy targets. He also needed wolves to protect the dens if he wanted to run a scouting mission across the land bridge. It was becoming painfully obvious how short handed Vashti really was. The question was, could he trust an outsider to protect them and not further do his pack harm?

Of couse, the loners had it just as roughly in the aftermath of the disasters. Families had been torn apart and prey sources had been compromised. It would serve a lone wolf well to join a pack, especially a strong one. It meant protection, shelter, the company of others. Darius considered for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. The stranger was young, that was for certain. In a way that was a good sign. Much of Vashti's youth had perished, unable to survive the temperamental conditions. If they wanted to survive the rest of the winter they would need new young blood, and he would need an heir.

"Very well." A growl laced his words as he stared down at the brute, green gaze piercing. "You look strong, though looks can be deceiving. Vashti is need of warriors. State your name, boy, and any skills you have." It would be just his luck that such a lumbering male would turn out to be a dud. Watch him turn out to be some oversized softie that would't harm a butterfly. Non-Vashti wolves could be downright strange in their beliefs. Just look at Maglor, his beta. Though he had since grown to trust the male, the beta was of a soft heart.

[Titan]

The low growling voice of the dire brute spoke up again, and the younger male hung onto his every word. He was accepted then? Or at least being considered? It took a great deal of self control to keep his paws still; the excitement rushing through his veins was almost too much, and the only thought holding him back was that a dignified alpha such as this wouldn’t want a youngster bouncing around his territory. No, Titan liked to think of himself as a responsible brute, someone trustworthy who could always be relied upon not to fool around. Well, at least, that was how he wanted others to see him.

He wasn’t too badly offended that the alpha doubted his abilities; after all, they had only just met and he wouldn’t last long if he went around trusting every wolf’s words as true. “My name is Titan. I’m a fighter. Not the best, but I’m willing to learn.” He spoke with a relatively stable voice but the passion was obvious in his sparkling blue eyes. Fighting was his drug; it filled his blood with adrenaline and made him feel invincible. His stubborn determination to win made him almost unstoppable in a battle, and the confidence this brought to him could leave him high for days.

“What should I call you?” He’d heard that some alphas were apparently too important to share their names with the lowly members of their pack, and although he doubted this was the case here, he needed at least to know what was deemed appropriate to call him. If the alpha did want to be called by a title Titan wouldn’t have a problem with it. He found to his slight surprise that he already respected this brute – enough so that he could fairly easily hold a more submissive posture without annoyance boiling up in his heart – and was even beginning to look up to him as a role model. Yes, he was pleased with his decision to come here, even though the alpha had given him the impression that he had better things to do.

The young loner may be dismissed for now, but he was sure that he would make himself appreciated eventually. A deep yearning to prove himself had awoken like a fire in the young male’s heart; he would show this brute that he could be just as strong as any warrior Vashti had ever had. Just because his family had been weak didn’t mean that he was too. And besides, this was his family now. Darius was the new owner of his loyalty, and he knew with utter certainty that he would do whatever was necessary to aid the pack whether he got along with the individual members or not.



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