Where's My Wonderland [Joining]

[Deleted]

As the sun began to lower from it's highest point in the sky, a dark male cut his path through the forest. The sun was barely breaking through a thin cloud cover and the trees overhead, giving his fur a small bit of added warmth. Khellus wandered a while longer before coming to a small, cave-like opening in the roots of a large tree, He crawled in, his large frame barely fitting in its small space. He sighed, remembering how nice it was to be able to share a den with his mother and siblings, and even with the other wolves in the zoo. It was something he was already wishing to have back, just a few short days after ending up on this strange island.

The brute lowered his head to his paws, his gray eyes staring out, looking beyond the trees and undergrowth that was before him. He was in a strange land, surrounded by strange wolves that he has scented but not yet seen, and had no way of getting off the island. He was a poor swimmer, and it had been amazing to him that he had managed to swim ashore in the storm after he escaped from his crate. Snapping his jaws and letting out a frustrated growl, Khellus pulled himself from the small cave, shaking the dirt and debris from his pelt.

There were scent markers nearby, he had been following them for a while now. There was a wolf pack here, he knew it. He broke through a few more trees, stopping just feet from the strongest part of the scent trail that was the pack's border. Shaking himself again, Khellus stood taller, raising his muzzle and howling. He knew he didn't have much to offer the pack, as he had never been a truly wild canine before this point, but he knew there was one thing he had. He had potential. He could learn, and that was, in his mind, more valuable than already being a master in hunting or fighting or anything. If he was turned down, so be it. But he would at least try.

He sat, allowing his tail to rest lazily behind him. He waited, wondering who would answer his call.

[Toiro]

Summer was a time of prosperity for the Airila pack, with their territory of Shyia almost overflowing with prey in the peak season for hunting. The mountains which were so icy and inhospitable in the depths of winter were almost unrecognisable as the same land feature – now brown and bare of snow – and in fact the temperature throughout the territory was pleasantly warm, if not a little on the too-hot side for the cold loving pack.

Most of the alpha’s time was spent relaxing outside the dens, playing with his three surviving pups (he was proud to say that they had already developed into strong young wolves), going for a semi-casual hunt in the lower forest regions, or strolling along the borders (as he was currently doing) on the off chance that some strange new scent would turn up. It was rare that Shyia received visitors at this time of year – there was plenty of prey in the free lands of Caurus and Tiayr so most loners currently felt little pressure to seek out a pack for safety, and Airila was such a long-standing pack that by now most wolves on mainland Anikira knew about them, and so did not wander by accident into their lands.

As a result, Toiro was pleasantly surprised when the howl of a foreigner rang through the trees. He always enjoyed meeting new wolves. The owner of the call sounded as though he was a fair distance away, so it would take the alpha some time to reach him, but at least he was not on the opposite side of the territory. The large grey male broke into an easy lope, glad for an opportunity to stretch his legs – running through the beautiful forests of Xayar never lost its charm, even despite the many years Toiro had lived here.

The alpha soon came into view of a younger dark-furred wolf sitting near the border. “Hello,” Toiro greeted the stranger, holding himself tall as he approached, although the regal image was somewhat broken by the friendly wag of his tail. “What brings you here to the lands of the Airila pack?”


.

[Deleted]

For a while, Khellus was almost worried that no one would show up. Was howling what he was supposed to do? Is it going to sound like he is here as a threat to the wolves of the pack? It made him shift his weight almost anxiously as he sat there waiting. What if no one comes? What if they turn me down? What will I do? I don’t know how to be a wild wolf. I forget everything from the sanctuary that I had learned. There is no way I can survive. Standing up, Khellus began to pace as he waited, although this only lasted a few minutes before he heaved another heavy sigh and sat back down.

His ears twitched at the sound of something running by behind him, probably a squirrel, but he didn’t care enough to try and go after it. He wasn’t hungry, and he knew he didn’t stand a chance trying to catch it. He lowered his head a bit, wishing someone would just hurry up and show, if anyone was going to, that is. Khellus lowered his body to the ground, his head resting on his paws. Staring out into the forest in front of him, he began to wonder what his siblings and parents were doing right now, and the wolves back at the zoo he had gotten to know.

He only had a short time to wonder, though, as soon enough he began to hear someone coming, and this time they were on the other side of the border. Picking himself up, Khellus shook a bit to free the few pieces of dirt and grass that quickly clung to his black fur before casting his silver eyes in the direction the wolf was coming from. The stranger appeared not far from him, his tail wagging gently behind him. At the sight of the other male, Khellus lowered his head slightly, averting his gaze. At this point, he was running purely on instinct. He brought his head back up upon the other’s greeting.

”Hello. My name is Khellus.” With his name out in the open, he found himself stumped on why exactly he came to this pack. In reality, it was the first one he found, and that was all the reasoning he had. ”I came to your pack’s land, hoping to learn the ways of the wild.” He swallowed a bit before continuing, feeling a bit nervous now. ”I was raised by humans, and I have never been in the wild before. I ended up on this island by mistake, and I know I can not survive long on my own.” He lowered his head again as he spoke, hoping the male would not shun him for his pathetic reasoning.

[Toiro]

The Airila alpha noticed how the other wolf averted his gaze respectfully at his approach, and was pleased by the display of politeness. Although he did not usually demand obeisance from his packmates, preferring that they were comfortable around him, it was always good to meet a wolf who was courteous towards him and his pack.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Khellus. I am Toiro, the alpha of Airila."

But then the dark stranger moved on to talk about the reason why he had come to Shyia and Toiro blinked, rather confused by his words. Humans? What on earth were they? He felt as though he had heard the word mentioned before by various wolves, but had never come across these mystery creatures himself. And what could the male mean when he said he didn't know the ways of the wild? He was alive, and looked to be at least several years old, so how was it possible that he had never been wild before? The wild was all Toiro had ever known, and he couldn't imagine anything different.

"So... You came here to join our pack?" Toiro asked in an attempt to return to a topic which was familiar to him. Khellus had said something about wanting to learn from them, so presumably that meant he wanted to integrate with the pack. If he didn't intend to join, Toiro would have no clue what he was after. He didn't have the vaguest idea how to even begin to teach a grown wolf how to be "wild", whatever that meant in the first place.

He did, however, identify with the lost feeling Khellus must be experiencing, being new to the island and never having planned to come here in the first place. It had been a very long time since Toiro had been in that position, but he remembered it well. He had been fortunate to have come across another wolf in a similar situation - without that support it was unlikely that he would have coped well. So even though he didn't understand exactly where Khellus was coming from, the alpha felt that he at least deserved a chance.

[Deleted]

The dark male grew more nervous as he spoke and as the alpha hesitating before speaking, clearly confused. He swallowed hard before straightening himself to further answer the questions posed to him, but this time, he thought deeper and more carefully about his choice of words. The main question he had to answer now was simple, whether or not he came to join the pack. Ultimately, yes, though that was not the full reason he was here. With another swallow, he gave a quick nod to the alpha in front of him, who he now knew was named Toiro. ”Y… yes. I am here to join your pack. And I apologize if any of my words seem foreign to you.” He hated himself for the minor stutter.

Taking a deep and calming breath, he awaited the alpha to speak again, either with more questions, or with a lighter, almost conversational statement. It was probably obvious that his nerves were growing. It frustrated him, knowing that he was referring to things that were clearly unknown in this place. While he wandered, he didn’t once see anything that appeared to be made by humans, which meant there probably were none here. It would explain why his mention of them triggered a look of confusion on Toiro’s face. He mentally shook himself, urging his mind to stay on the topic at hand.

He wasn’t sure which was better at the moment, making eye contact or keeping his gaze diverted at the ground. His eyes flicked up and down between them, before he finally decided on keeping his gaze diverted. Questions hummed through his mind, varying from if he was only making a fool of himself to if he would be turned away or accepted, or even if he could survive if he remained on his own without being taught the ways of the wild. He hoped the look on his face did not reflect the flustered state his mind was in as he waited to hear what the alpha would say.

[Toiro]

Khellus still appeared to be rather nervous, his gaze flicking around in agitation despite Toiro's attempt to be approachable and welcoming towards the newcomer. The grey-eyed alpha watched as the other male spoke again, taking a little time to select the right words before he stated that he did intend to join Airila and apologised for the confusion he had caused Toiro with his earlier story.

It was true that they didn't quite seem to understand each other, but that was not a problem in his eyes, as the solution was simply to get to know each other better. Indeed, Khellus really had nothing to worry about from the larger grey male, although Toiro supposed that his light-hearted benevolence was an unusual trait amongst alphas, and it was therefore sensible for Khellus to remain cautious. To tell the truth, it was a wonder that Toiro had even risen to the position of alpha in the first place, with his relaxed, non-confrontational personality - Airila was truly an oddity amongst the other packs of Anikira. In a good way, of course, Toiro told himself with a small smile. Wolves of all kinds could find sanctuary here as long as they were not looking to cause trouble for others.

"Welcome to Airila, Khellus. You will begin as a subordinate, but perhaps once you've settled in you might discover a skill which could earn you a higher rank within the pack." Toiro wagged his tail as he grinned at his newest member. He was always one for helping others to improve themselves so that they could reach their full potential and he was certain that with time Khellus would find his place.

"Would you like a tour of the territory?" Now that the formalities of a first meeting were over and Khellus was officially part of his family, Toiro's voice held a lighter almost playful note, his excitement at having a new wolf to show around starting to become apparent.



((OOC: We don't have to play out the tour if Khellus accepts since it might take a while to cover everything, though of course if you want to I would be willing to ^^ Main thing to know is that the dens are at the entrance to Lerelm.))

[Deleted]

The brief moment of anxious waiting seemed to stretch on for an eternity for the black and grey brute. His eyes continuously twitched between various swigs and stones on the ground. It had honestly seemed like forever to Khellus before the alpha spoke once more. His heart rate increased and he was almost certain the other male could hear the pounding in his chest. It was so loud, in fact, that he almost missed the response. His eyes felt like they widened in surprise as the words struck his large ears, and he hoped dearly that they had not actually done so.

Welcome to Airilla. It was actually not what he had expected. Being a wolf so new to the wild, with hardly any idea how packs actually worked, he had been fully prepared to have been turned away and told to learn to survive or die. But that was far from what had happened, and his pounding heart almost seemed to implode as it calmed in relief. He lifted his head and gaze to meet his new leader's, who was now smiling and lightly waving his tail. Khellus returned the smile, his tail giving a few overly-excited wags before he managed to calm it down.

"Thank you, for taking me as a part of your pack. I will not let you down." His voice held clear relief as he spoke his gratitude, and a slight exhale of breath followed the statement. As for the tour of the territory, who in the right mind would turn that up? Especially someone who had never even heard of this island before they wound up on it against their will. I would love a tour, thank you." He gave another bow/nod combination, though did not step forward for another moment. Khellus was still in a state of surprise that this male had accepted him so easily, having no idea of how to really live as a wild wolf. But as his mind came to terms with the fortunate circumstances, he stepped closer to the other wolf, waiting for him to take the lead.


(OOC: We don't have to go through the tour.)