Ready or not, here I come! [Rasalas, Acceptance]

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Kenley padded along, her fur running free of the salt of the sea. The rain seemed to trickle from the sky and she felt refreshed. This was much better than the sticky, salty stuff she had had to swim through. Her joints and muscles aching from the strange use of them while swimming were causing her to go slower than she'd like. The red rocks under her feet felt different than the sand from back home, but not altogether unpleasant. Besides, she'd traveled over worse on her way here. Blegh, that hot, black, hard ground was terrible, she thought to herself, reminiscing about her journey. Thus far, she had enjoyed her short stay on the island, if only it weren't so lonely!
Kenley shook her head as she continued to walk. No use muddling herself up with bad thoughts. Her lean legs carried her gracefully over the rock formations, almost in a feline manner. Unable to see much due to the fog around her she relied mostly on her hearing, which insisted on playing tricks on her, echoing her own steps back to her. Famished, she followed the near silent sound of scurrying to a crevice in the rock, peaking into the gap. To her surprise a pair of yellow eyes peered back! She backed away a couple of steps crouching low. The lizard slithered its way out from the gap and Kenley pounced, securing her jaws around its frail body. This lizard reminded her much of home, and a wave of loneliness crashed over her. Gulping down the final morsels she continued on her way, lazily gaining ground. As she found herself moving upward, she began to turn her travel into a game. For one who has been alone so long, entertainment must be found somehow!
Looking up, she began to plan her route, Ah yes... we'll go that one there... then that.. oh no that one instead... Beginning to execute her climb, Kenley had to use every sore muscle in her body to complete some of her leaps. Tiring quickly she found a large flat rock, where she could easily rest for a few moments. Readying herself, Kenley tensed the muscles in her legs, looked to the rock always keep your eyes on the prize... and leaped. What she hadn't counted on, was how slippery rock could be when wet. Scrabbling with her nails to get purchase on the smooth red surface, she felt her rear right foot gain hold in a small crevice and went to launch herself the final couple of feet to the ledge. In doing so, she badly scraped the top of her foot, causing her to limp on landing. Turning to look at her paw she noticed the cut was deeper than she had imagined. Sitting on her haunches she raised her paw slightly and lowered her head, her wet, pink tongue lapping at the wound to clean it. As she cleaned it she tutted to herself Of all the silly things... in a strange place... no help... you complete goof.... After inspecting the cut once more she resigned herself to a rest, laid down and rested her head on her paws. The rain, was quite welcome afterall.
OOC; sorry if I'm not doing this right... didn't see a thread anywhere on how to apply for a pack!

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background: url(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/7417/rasscroll.png) center bottom no-repeat; width: 500px; height: 575px; padding: 0px;] The Alpha brute felt in significantly better spirits today; although he could not exactly figure out the reason. His mind rolled with optimism, which was a near foreign topic to him. How could it be that his mind would change so quickly? One day he was overly paranoid and the next actually enjoying life, it was a confusing concept for the Alpha. The brute could not lie, he was enjoying whatever temporary relief had entered his veins. Amber eyes lifted themselves towards the sky, a particularly encouraging gaze to whatever had seated itself beyond the clouds. Even a slight wiggle had set its pace within his tail, this was a rare occurrence when he was alone. The sun was peeking down at him from beyond the misty clouds, for once it's flaming gaze seemed to be smiling. The fog that had settled over the South lately had proved to be a mask to his own internal pain. The land may as well have been shying away from the rest of the world as well. Thus, the momentary glimpse of vibrant light brought a strange comfort to his lonesome soul. 'That must be what it is,' the brute chuckled lightly to himself. Gently his paws carried forth his muscular silhouette on another border patrol. Perhaps one day he could find a beta, or some warriors to officially assist him in such duties. At least there were more of them now and Tassos had been blessed with several skilled hunters. A gentle smile arose upon his muzzle, the expansion of the pack had even went smoothly. None had stepped forth to his challenge of claiming Xisyn. Rasalas could not help but wonder if the pack had forgotten about the Occasus, or if they still merely viewed it as too dangerous to trek. 'In time they will adventure that way once more,' the brute knew these thoughts were true even when his anxiety was acting up. Nostrils flared to sharply inhale the scent of his territory, but something was amiss. There was a specific scent that caught his nares quite violently, one that he did not recognize as belonging to Tassos. By this point the Alpha had learned enough about each member to properly identify them from a distance; he was confident that someone was lurking. It brought a twinge of anger into his soul; despite his short temper, Rasalas had learned to remain calm when it came to meeting with loners. Some of them were simply amused when an enraged Alpha located them. It was better to maintain some sense of calmness, even though his blood was churning just beneath his skin. Shaking his crania slowly the brute pushed the aggressiveness away from his body, sheltered it deep within his soul. 'Wait and see,' the words repeated within his skull as the Alpha attempted to hold his composure. Something good could come from this, it had before. But the brute was waiting for the time when a loner wandered into his land for a negative reason. That one simple thought kept his guard raised high. His pace had increased without the canine even acknowledging it, apparently his entire being wanted to search for the foreigner. Golden optics persistently scanned for any sign of life - specifically for a wolf that did not belong here. Lips remained loose around his teeth, an action that persistently was a struggle. It was instinct for the irritated brute to roll back his lips to reveal the row of razor sharp fangs. Alas, he did not wish to show his aggressive side to someone that may be wounded. The eruption was still taking the health of those outside of Tassos, it was as if they were under some divine protection for the time being. All that the brute could do was pray that they're time of safety was nowhere near being over. Dread always settled into him at the thought of danger, they were his family and needed his protection. The best that he could offer to them anyway. Distractions vacated his mind quickly as those observant eyes of his spotted something. It appeared to be a femme seated upon a rock not too far in the distance. His pace further increased in order to approach the other canine before they had an opportunity to flee. Rasalas was in no mood to hunt a lone bitch that wished to take off running throughout his territory. That would darken his mood significantly, for once he was enjoying the day. 'Just my luck,' certainly he had already begun assuming things. His brain already thinking of all the horrible outcomes that could be produced by this scenario. It was one of the red one's worse qualities. After what seemed like an eternity, his pace stopped a safe distance away from Kenley, his golden eyes studying her carefully. Now that he could view her up close, Rasalas discovered the wound on top of her paw. Instantly a pang of guilt swept through him, of course she was injured. It seemed that most loners wandering into The Occasus or Xisyn injured themselves somehow. They were dangerous territories if one was not used to them. Otherwise, they made quite amazing homes. Eyes shifted slowly from the female to her wound and then back to her. "Greetings, are you doing alright madam?" his tone was one of authority, but beneath it lay a twinge of concern for this female. Truly, Rasalas could not help but care for others; most of the time it simply came naturally to him. He opted to wait and introduce himself, to see what information this creature gave him - as well as if she truly was going to be okay. Just because only one wound was visible did not mean that there were not more. words:: Nine hundred and seventy-seven muse:: Decent tags:: Kenley ooc::

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Kenley continued licking her wounded paw, noticing the blood begin to clot. It stung terribly with every swipe of her tongue, and she wished dearly for the plants of her homeland that she was familiar with. At least at home she knew where to find the plant that would numb the pain. She had yet to see any plants here at all, and wondered if perhaps the land looked like this no matter how far you traveled. She missed her old shaman, the kind, gentle, wise old she-wolf had taught Kenley everything she knew, and without her, Kenley surely wouldn't have survived the trip south.

She allowed herself to reminisce on the trips her hardship had caused her. Growing up in such a prosperous pack had handicapped her. She was unaware of the evil that lurked beyond the sand dunes with which she was familiar. No more than a few days after departing her pack she had run into a fair sized group of jackals who looked nearly starved. They leered at her viciously, and she kept up a quick trot to discourage their following. This however did not deter them, but seemed only to encourage their group. Nearly too late Kenley realized that her trot had tired her more than she would have liked. Fear began to seize her, and the seriousness of the situation finally hit her. Should she slow to a walk and risk them thinking she had tired herself out? Or should she sprint and try to gain ground on them? Strategical thinking had never been her strong point, and she wished now that she had paid attention to her father's guidance. Alas, she usually brushed off his serious teaching to spend time with the shaman, learning the usefulness of plants. Kenley decided to walk and risk the jackals fighting her. As she did so, the jackals came to a halt, all in a line shoulder to shoulder. Perhaps, Kenley wondered they have reached the borders of their territory. Taking note of this, she stored it away in her memory.

Allowing herself to come back to the present Kenley's large ears picked up the quick padding of what sounded like another canine. Please don't be anymore Jackals. She turned her head to face the spot the noise was coming from and watched as a red wolf emerged from the fog. She waited patiently as he came closer, cocking her head to the side in curiosity. Who was this wolf who had mysteriously materialized out of the fog? She watched as he surveyed her, his eyes flicking to the wound on her paw, which had clotted by now, and back to her face. Her face warmed with the slight embarrassment of having done something so silly as to get herself wounded, but she recovered in time to hear him speak.

He cares! was Kenley's first thought at hearing the brute's question. It had been far too many months since she had heard another creature with even a trace of care for her in their voice. He also spoke authoritatively, as if he had a great number of tasks to do and people to watch over. I'm fine, sir. Just a silly scratch, nothing to worry over. If I were back home I'd fix myself up with some plants in a jiffy! Kenley's sing-song voice cracked slightly from misuse as she answered the strange wolf's question. If you don't mind my question, where exactly am I? You see, I've just washed up on shore to this gorgeous place without an inkling of what it's like. Don't get me wrong, it's lovely here, really! I just don't really know what's going on... Kenley babbled on, her friendly, talkative nature coming out once more. This wolf radiated confidence which automatically made her feel at ease. Wrapping her tail gently around her rear legs she sat, observing the male. She hoped desperately he could help her find other wolves. Being alone was not her forte, and had started to wear on her happy attitude. She found it harder to look on the bright side of things each new day she was alone. Hopefully this would be a fortunate turn of events.

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The russet brute focused his golden orbs through the thick waves of fog, holding steadfast upon the strange femme. He was not judging the other canine, more intrigued as to what all was occurring. It seemed nearly surreal that wounded canines were legitimately arriving around every corner. Something felt terribly off about it; however, it gave Rasalas a purpose. This held a potential to be redemption and save him from whatever disasters inevitably lay ahead. If he saved enough lives and bettered their souls - could he then be forgiven? Being redeemed seemed merely a waste of time to think about for the Alpha, his life was stuck in the same agonizing cycle. Everything possible had been tried in order to better his slightly crazed condition; thus far nothing had worked.

In a strange way the fog felt safe to the male, even loving with the small traces of sunlight passing through it. The fog had never been this thick within The Occasus, but it appeared to be a regular occurrence in Xisyn. Despite his mental comfort that the haze gave him, the Alpha did need to worry about the others. Certainly the thick coverage made it more likely that loners, like the one before him, would stumble into their terrain. Perhaps some believed that they could cleverly slide through the pack and not be noticed. Rasalas hoped that this was not a regular event, he wished to never hear an agonizing howl from a member of his family. 'I need to speak with Scout,' the brute trusted the shaman more than nearly every other wolf within Tassos. The other brute was his closest friend, someone who had stood by the Alpha's side during the most challenging times. When all else had abandoned Rasalas - Scout remained to extend the best support that he would.

Pulling his brain away from the future task, he opted to focus upon the one before him. The pretty little femme seemed to be doing alright, her injury had clotted over nicely by now. His knowledge of herbs had been decreasing with each passing day and the brute could not evaluate the depth of her cut; however, he made the assumption that she was quite alright. Typically a wolf would show more concern if there was severity to their wounds. Unless they perceived him as a blatant threat, which seemed unlikely given his luck lately. He took a few slow steps closer to the female as she began to speak, his orbs avidly searching the terrain around them. The brute was weary of loners naturally and a part of him always believed that where there was one stranger, another could be lurking nearby. Being caught unaware was one of the canine's greatest fears. He had sworn to protect all of them; he intended to never break that promise.

Her chipper tone caught him slightly off guard; although the brute managed to stifle the intrigued gaze that longed to be cast towards her. Rather, he mustered up a calculated nod and a slight grin to reassure the other. "At least it is nothing severe, you are quite lucky compared to the wounds that could have occurred," eyes shifted themselves in the direction of Pievunt-An, the dreaded volcano that had erupted only a few months earlier. Originally it had been a plague upon the pack, but things had taken quite an unexpected shift for them. Rather than live solely within The Occasus, they now held claims upon Xisyn as well. Even now, the brute wondered how often the others traveled to their other territory. If they even did after the accident, the Alpha opted to make routine checks that way; however, he had not stumbled across any of his fellow pack mates in that direction.

'She knows something of medicine?' her words did spike a bit of interest inside the red brute. He had a plan on promoting his current shaman and gatherer to higher ranks, one pack member to a gatherer - but there could never be too many medics. After all, they lived within two territories now, it was logical for them to have two gatherers. Then it would ensure that Vixen would always be well stocked on herbs. Assuming that the current gatherer wished to become the Tassos shaman. It excited the Alpha to finally have more ranks being assigned to his members. It would give them responsibilities and lift some weight from his shoulders; additionally it would allow them to better their natural talents. Perhaps before the next moon cycle ended, the brute could actually allow himself time to think and settle his vicious inner demons.

The Alpha understood the femme's trespassing as she briefly inquired as to her location. Rasalas was an Anikira native and knew nothing of the world away from this island, but could only imagine the torment of being washed up onto a strange continent - let alone within another pack's territory. At least he did not have to worry about the foreigner being an ignorant fool, not yet anyway. She seemed to have enough intelligence about her to respectfully speak with him, especially for not knowing where she was or who she was conversing with. "You have arrived upon the island of Anikira, specifically within Xisyn - a territory that is claimed by the pack called Tassos," his words were stated factually, no cruel or passive aggressive tones making themselves apparent.

What her response would be was a mystery to him, but the brute tried to be patient. His mind had a way of racing, it wanted to think of all possible outcomes in order to prepare itself. Rasalas strived to be one step ahead of everything in his life, not wanting to find himself caught naked and unaware. Audits remained perked upon his crania, waiting not only for her words, but keeping themselves alert in the event that others showed up. A few silent moments passed on his end before he opted to ask her a question, "What is your name?" Regardless of her reason for being within Tassos' territory, the Alpha believed himself worthy of knowing who he was speaking with.

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words:: One thousand and thirty-five
muse:: Good
tags:: Kenley
ooc:: I am so hyper today and I am not sure why

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Ecstatic to have someone else to talk to again, Kenley sat in awe momentarily, forgetful of the general flow of conversation. "Oh..oh sorry! I assume you're the alpha here then? Goodness me, I'm ever so terribly sorry, sir! Had I known I wouldn't have ventured farther from the shore, begging your forgiveness, sir! " Kenely blinked her eyes rapidly, the same feelings she had experienced with the jackals coming back to her now. This wolf had the potential to completely wipe her out, and no one would know any different. She was completely helpless again. More than anything she didn't want to be alone any longer. She was not a loner, she wasn't meant to be a solitary creature. The thought saddened her greatly, a dark cloud on her otherwise bright horizon.
Suddenly, a thought came to her mind. Before it could fully develop though, the brute asked a question that jolted her out of her inner conflict. "Where are my manners?! Kenley, Kenley is my name. I've traveled an awfully long way, I hope you're not too angry with me for stumbling into your lands..." At this point, Kenley decided to implement her plans. I really hope this works. "Sir, if you don't mind my asking terribly, would you have space for me in your pack?" She, of course, was assuming he was the alpha, but if not perhaps this male, who seemed gentle enough to her could take her there. The fog around her had dissipated greatly, and she looked about at the land around her. The red rock was rich in colour, reminding her of the dunes of her native land. Her words choked in her throat as she continued. "I can heal, or I could where I come from at least. I'm a fast learner, and well.. even if the plants are different I'm sure I could learn them easily! I'm fast, my hearing is decent. I may be a bit clumsy, but I'd have no problem, even if you just wanted me to mind any pups. I love pups!" Kenley continued to babble, hopeful that she could convince this male to let her in. She knew she wouldn't survive long on her own, knew that her very life depended on being with others. She just hoped this wolf would allow it. "Might I ask your name, sir? She hoped, at the very least, that this wolf could direct her to someone who would take her.
OOC; I'm sorry this is so short. My concussion is making it hard to concentrate.

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The Alpha nodded his head slightly, audits erect upon his crania in order to better hear the femme's speech. Truthfully he felt bad that she had to trek across the perilous sea. Even within his wildest nightmare, he could not imagine the chaos and fear that would swirl through him. The brute had been frightened enough when Pie-vunt An erupted. His body shivered at the mere thought of such an event ever recurring. At least he could reassure himself that Tassos was safe, they could thrive within Xisyn should anything ever happen. At least there was some relief to his troubled mind now, some inkling of security within his otherwise chaotic lifestyle. The red brute has learned to accept the twists and turns that life threw at him, even expect them to some degree. Nevertheless his heart always stung with guilt and agony, it was as if he was persistently setting himself up for failure.

Shifting his attention back towards the real world and the loner before him, Rasalas extended a soft smile. There was little doubt in his mind that she was likely worried about the outcome of her situation; certainly any normal canine would be. Therefore the Alpha wanted to show her the most kindness that he could, without appearing to be a pushover. The last thing Tassos needed right now was for their leader to be bossed around by a stranger, problems would quickly arise from that. His first impression of the female was quite positive; thus far, Rasalas did not believe that she would cause problems. 'She is accurate with her first thoughts of me,' the red brute had never believed himself to be Alpha quality. Her words were taken as a great compliment, few had ever believed him the leader of these lands when they first met him. 'Things are changing,' a slight wag set place within the brute's tail.

"Indeed, I am the Alpha of Tassos," a soft chuckle parted ways with his muzzle. Kenley had done the brute a favor without even knowing it, his confidence in himself had increased substantially for the moment. Optics darted from the female out wards, surveying the terrain around them. As always, the brute found himself paranoid - persistently watchful for invaders. He seemed to constantly be on guard for something that he prayed would never come. "Do not worry, I am quite positive that you did not intend to wash up on shore, nor be carried by the sea." The russet canine was attempting to ease the worried mind of the other, make her feel safe perhaps even welcome within the territory. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kenley," the brute nodded his head in official greeting as he stored this femme's name within his brain. Names were very important within his world, it gave each individual he met a specific identity over simply being a stranger.

His ears quivered lightly as the female inquired about Tassos having room for her. With two territories there was significantly more room than they needed for their current numbers. She even went so far as to explain how she would be able to assist the pack, which impressed the Alpha. The smile upon his features grew as Kenley proceeded with her speech, his interest held steadfast upon her. "Tassos has plenty of room for you, we extend throughout two territories. I am sure you will quickly learn the land. Out current shaman, Vixen, has a gatherer; however, she may be interested in another." It made sense to him that the shaman would want a gatherer for Xisyn and one for The Occasus, but seeing as they would be following her orders the brute thought it wise to converse with her first. Perhaps he was flawed for even mentioning Vixen as the shaman, considering the female had yet to receive her official promotion. Rasalas doubted the female would decline such an offer.

A flush rushed into the red one's cheeks, it seemed he had been quite rude despite his good intentions. "It seems I have forgotten my manners, forgive me. I am called Rasalas," his smile became rather shy. Typically the brute believed himself rather decent at introductions, but there was a first time for everything. After all, he had been stressing himself out lately. There were so many things that needed to get accomplished and he was not one to ask for help. It finally was beginning to settle in that life was easier when everyone shared responsibilities, that meant him sharing as well. He could not provide a perfect life for his family all alone, it required everyone's efforts in order to make the pack function to its fullest extent.

OoC| Sorry mine isn't the best either ><