Promotion [Spirit, Airila, Open]

[Toiro]

Toiro lay lazily outside the dens, soaking up all he could of the sun’s rays. With winter well on its way, it was rare to find a day like this. Fine, with only a few clouds drifing slowly across the sky.

Sighing, the big grey wolf lifted himself up into a sitting position and he looked around at the valley. He could see the entrance to Lerelm nestled in at the base of the sheer cliff face which curved around the valley to form a protective semi-circle. The ground was dotted with large boulders, from the avalanche that had happened almost a year ago. He still remembered that dreadful day, when he’d been caught out in the massive blizzard that had also ended his mate’s life.
He would be taking every precaution this year to ensure that none of his pack members would be lost to the snow. Which reminded him… he needed to sort out some ranks around here. He wanted to be fully prepared and organised for the winter ahead.

Toiro had been thinking of Spirit as his Lead Warrior for quite some time now, and was ready to make the position official. Her loyalty while he and Kastiel had been away on their journey should be rewarded. He’d also noticed the prey that Duchess had been bringing back from her hunts; maybe he would ask her if she was interested in taking the position of Hunter. Castien seemed to be quite handy too, although he hadn’t spent much time with the brute.

Tilting his muzzle up towards the clear blue sky, the alpha male let out a long howl, a summons to every wolf nearby. He was fairly certain that a couple of his wolves had gone out hunting in the morning, and he hadn’t noticed their return. His soft howl probably wouldn’t have reached the far side of Shyia, and even if it did, he didn’t expect them to come running all the way back.

Toiro sat regally as he waited for his friends, no, his family, to arrive. Although he could seem very distant at times, he loved every wolf who was a part of this pack, and was proud to call himself their alpha.



((OOC: Set before "Entering the Cold" for plot purposes))

[Deleted]

The wound on her shoulder ached greatly, a searing pain spreading from hair to hair all across her body like a rampaging wildfire. The bloody crust around the injury's opening at least covered up the nasty, strange colored puss that surrounded the actual wound itself, preventing others from seeing it. However, as she laid there in her den silently, she couldn't help but feel the agony she was forcing her body to go through so that she did not worry a soul. She was well aware that it was infected, there was no doubt about that, but she was not willing to admit it. She was a strongly stubborn female and she refused to show or feel any weakness as she was now. At least she was within the safety of her den, where no one could see her wallowing in her pain.

Spirit had been attacked by a bear not too long ago, and she was a hell of a lucky wolf that it had only been a young one, not fully grown. She was also lucky that Kastiel had been there when she needed him, though she was unaware of his presence at the time. He had been hit by the monster too, but she had managed to patch him up well enough to keep any infection out. Herself, on the other hand, had done nothing to cover or care for her own injury. Her thoughts and attention had been solely on the Beta that day and night, as well as the day following. A numb feeling clouded her mind every time she thought about the male, and it would not leave no matter how desperately she attempted to shake him from her head. She knew what was happening within her heart, but she was not ready to accept it.

Her ears twitched and her golden eyes flickered about in the comforting darkness of her den when she heard her Alpha's call. "Now? Of all times..." She brought herself to her feet forcefully, being careful not to hurt herself as she moved. But with the pain already running through her body, there wasn't much she could do about it. Pacing silently from her resting place, she went to the small body of water resting at the bottom of the path where the pack's dens laid. As she peered into the water, her appearance was disheveled and she seemed weary. She lowered her muzzle and drank from the cool liquid, forcing a shake from her pelt to loose it of any dirt. She turned herself around, taking a deep breath for support, and began to stride proudly from the dens.

No one would see her as weak, no matter the pain she had to endure.

Once outside, the massive Tundra wolf could see her leader looking down upon the valley, and she gave herself an inward grown, unwilling to give much effort to get to where he was. However, she pushed on. The more she walked, the more her proud stride turned into a limp. She was a strong girl, but she was not the strongest wolf out there. She wouldn't be able to put much weight on her leg for awhile longer. As she climbed to where her leader was, she hid the pain that contorted her expression and sat carefully a few feet from him on a rather comfortable patch of ground. Her fur was dark enough, maybe he wouldn't see it. At least, she could hope for that much. Instead, she offered a greeting smile, "Hello, Torio. A lovely day, no? What have you called us for?"

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[seadragoness]

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[bg=000000][atrb=background,http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff153/Lumarinam/kastiel-background.png] Kastiel had thrown himself back into preparations for winter. The time he had let slip due to his injuries had greatly worried him, and he watched the herds with an almost feverish determination. He would know exactly where to go to find them when winter came. He knew where they took to and when winter took the land they would remain where they too knew the territory to survive the cold. He Was careful not to scare them for their territory and carefully set up markers along all trees he could find leading from the dens towards the herds grounds. He would ensure to get a group of wolves and hunt down the deer very close to winter so they could store them in the ground near the dens so they would be able to huddle for a time before Kastiel was needed to go out and follow his trackers to the deer. He was determined to do his best – he was not about to fail his first winter with his new family. Yet, despite all this there was a new determination about the beta as he went about his work. His thoughts where cloudier than ever, but his heart seemed to soar within his chest, mostly when a single scent caught his nostrils, setting himself on fire. He had no idea of the agony this wolf that messed with his mind was currently going through. She had cared for him when he thought he was going to crawl away and die somewhere quite after blood from his belly had stained the green forest floor. She had covered it, stopped the painful flow of blood, his life blood, that had seeped from him. She had kept away infection, and he was well aware that he owed his life to her. He did not know however, ragging from fevered dreams that she had covered his wound, but not her own. He to this moment still did not know that she had not cared for herself. Had he known, he would have been furious, he would have halted everything and ensured that she was okay. But he could not check something he did not know, and any senses that might have warned him where confused with the new feelings that had risen inside of him. He heard the call of his alpha, striking through the thoughts of Spirit, and he turned instantly and began to make his way to the direction of the call. His Alpha was beloved to him; the brute had brought him into this family, had seen potential in him and made him the beta here. He owed Toiro a lot, and Toiro was the first wolf he had ever considered a friend. He would die for his leader, and follow his orders trustingly, he had a lot of respect for the other. Kastiel was the second to arrive at the place their Alpha had called them too, and his heart skipped a beat inside his chest as he saw Spirit. Romantic feelings vanished as soon as they had arrived. He had not seen much of the other since that day they had hunted after their injuries, but he could see it in her. She was still walking – limping, really, to the place there Alpha sat. She was hiding her pain behind the high, prideful tilt of her head, and he knew she would rather suffer then let others worry about her. He moved until he was beside her, pressing ever so lightly against her coat. He would not say it to her here, but he knew he would force her to get the injury looked at after this meeting. He would not point it out to others, but would quietly direct her to the healer (Who Kastiel was yet to meet) the moment he had the chance. His coming up beside her, brushing his coat against hers was a very subtle thing, letting her know that if she needed it she could lead against him. He would do anything for Spirit, but he knew also of her pride and did not want to hurt her. Why... why had she let her injuries get to this? They had been far less severe than Kastiel’s, but they must have gotten infected... how had he not smelled it on her earlier? “Greetings Torio” He murmured politely, nodding his head to the alpha, hiding his worries behind his emotionless expression

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Manip {c} Haptic to Sea <3

[Toiro]

Toiro faced the gentle wind sweeping across the valley, letting the breeze ruffle his thick grey fur. At the sound of pawsteps he turned, and was pleased to see Spirit. He suddenly realised how funny it would have been if Spirit had been one of the ones out hunting. Not present at her own ceremony! He wouldn’t have known what to do with the wolves who had shown up; ruin the surprise, or just dismiss them straight away. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as he imagined what might have happened.

Busy with his thoughts, he had not noticed the way that Spirit had limped towards him, and did not even notice that Kastiel had arrived until the beta spoke. “Greetings, greetings!” he said quickly, jolting out of his thoughts “Yes, it’s a marvelous day today” Toiro took a moment to look out over the beautiful landscape that was the territory of Shyia, before turning back to face his packmates.

The happy and somewhat dazed expression on his face disappeared to be replaced by pride and determination. Toiro raised himself to his full height and proudly looked Spirit in the eye with his steely grey gaze. It was true that he often let his inner puppy run free, but at times like these - important times - he could be strong and regal; a true alpha.

“Spirit. It is time that we honored your courage, strength, and most of all, your loyalty. You are a good friend, and I know that you do your best to protect your packmates” He took a deep breath, preparing to continue “With this position comes added responsibilities, which I'm sure you can handle. If you have any trouble at all, please remember that Kastiel and I are always here to help.”

"From now on, Spirit, you are Lead Warrior of Airila. You are in charge of border patrols and the choosing and training of possible warriors. You will help myself and Kastiel recruit new members, and will lead the Warriors into battle if the time ever comes."

“That is, of course, if you are willing to accept the position” he added with a smile.


.

[Deleted]

ooc: sorry about the delay, work is killer...


Spirit could not help but soak in the rays of the sun as they pounded down on her dark pelt, warming the skin beneath it. It helped to ease the pain of her shoulder wound slightly, but it did not do too much for her, since it was still infected. She just prayed that she could hide it long enough from them as to not worry them. It was relaxing for a moment, feeling the sun worming its way through her pelt, but it did not last forever.

It was not long before Kastiel arrived, and she felt the brush of his pelt against her own. Barely, but it was there. Her skin heated to an abnormal extent, one from the reason she loved to avoid and another from the fact that she had a feeling he could tell she was hurting. Now she knew that there was little chance of herself getting out of the situation, especially when worrying someone was the last thing she wanted to do. She had planned on finding a healer of some sort.

When her leader began to speak, at first she did not know what to make of it. Loyalty, strength, courage. For a moment, she did not understand, then when the next part came, she found herself completely speechless. Her golden eyes widened significantly at the mention of the promotion and at that moment she was pretty sure every hair on her body was sticking up in every single direction, as though she had been electrocuted.

When he was finished, she felt a broad smile work its way onto her maw, and she blinked to make sure it was real. "Believe me, I'd be honored. I...just can't believe this is real..." She was overjoyed, but at the moment wouldn't put it past either of them to step on her tail to make sure it was real. She wasn't sure what else to say or do at that point. She had been a princess once, but she was taking more pride in this.

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[Deleted]

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[atrb=background,http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z444/spottystar/AKxastientablebkgd.jpg] Castien had been out, exploring his new home when he heard the call of his alpha rip through the air, cutting through the peaceful valley and breaking the large brute of his thoughts. It had recently began to snow and Cas could see his trail of pawsteps mixed with drops of blood. A rabbit hung limply from his jaws, still warm from it's racing blood and the chase. But, even though Castien was a much better fighter than a hunter, that didn't make him a shabby hunter. In fact he had overtaken this poor victim rather simply. His stomach was growling, but he was always raised to feed the pack first before himself, so he would make sure there was food in the stomachs of each member be fore he himself would partake. Oh, how he wanted to sink his teeth deeper into the prey and taste it's delicious juices... But he withheld. It wasn't easy. And cue howl. That was as far as he had gotten when Toiro beckoned him. His ears perked up and he instantly picked up speed toward the source. It wasn't a call of urgency or pain, or battle. But, merely a call of gathering. But, he still prepared himself for the worst, he never expected anything anymore. As the saying goes: Expect the unexpected. And that he would. As he neared closer to the dens and his packmates, he could hardly smell anything beside the rabbit, it's scent filling his senses. But he could smell an underlying scent of his alpha, but also two other, familiar, smells. Not Duchess. So it must have been Kastiel and Spirit. And as he trotted into view, it was clear he was late and had missed something important. He saw Toiro with his head lifted proudly, his eyes rested on Spirit with such love and happiness, what had he announced? And Spirit, who had shown him so much anger and rejection that first meeting, was staring at Toiro with wide, surprised eyes, stuttering something.. "...I..just can't believe this is real..."

[/i] What wasn't real? What was going on? He noticed Kastiel beside her, pressing against her side supportively.

The large brute approached the group cautiously and quietly, dropping the rabbit as he grew closer, and as he grew closer he could smell the infection. And he stopped short of six feet, trying to sort it out and his gaze landed on Spirit. The smell was coming from her. His heart skipped a beat and a sort of panic set in. Was she okay? What had happened? He took his eyes off of Spirit and looked at Toiro with a dip of his head. "Greetings, everyone. What'd I miss? Is everything okay?" Worry clouded his eyes, but confusion clouded his mind.

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