play my part [Joining, Toiro only]

[Deleted]

The grey wolf's breath was visible in the frigid night air. He slid over the ground at a steady trot, his footfalls making little noise on the carpeted forest floor. His paws were cracked and split and causing him discomfort, though he refused to stop and rest. Javan had learned long ago how to deal with pain, and he also knew that it was unwise to push your body the way he was pushing his. But with any luck, his journey would last only a little bit longer. His old pack had disbanded six months ago, so he'd been looking after himself for a while. He was a fairly adequate hunter, and had little trouble keeping himself fed with small animals, but he missed the social structure of a pack, even if it had been one he'd hated. He'd spent the six lonely months roaming Anikira, questioning other wolves and listening for snippets of rumor. His goal had been to learn all he could about the remaining packs that dwelled here on the continent, and he'd managed to narrow his choices down to two packs: Descai and Airila. Joining the Descai pack would have been an interesting experience, but Javan feared that it was a little bit too similar to his old pack, and didn't think he could bear to continue living the way he had for the past four years of his life. He was tired of being angry; mentally drained from the hatred that had been his companion since his birth pack was obliterated. With the disintegration of his previous pack, he was looking for a fresh start in a new family, and this was why he'd picked Airila as the most likely choice. Toiro had a reputation for being a fair leader, and he liked this territory better than his old one. He didn't know much else about those who resided here, but they couldn't be so bad. Any new wolves were an improvement.

He wound his way through the trees with expert ease, pausing every now and then to listen for the presence of other wolves, sometimes not moving for several minutes at a time. Javan was nervous. He would never admit it to himself, he did not even acknowledge the feeling purposefully, but it was there in the tightness of his muscles, the jerky motion of his large ears as he sought to keep himself unseen. Never before had he purposefully set out to join a pack. Being forcibly adopted into one doesn't really count. There was a reason that he'd stuck around for four years in a pack that he'd hated; the fear of the unknown was always enough to dissuade him from deserting. No matter how difficult life became in his old home, he'd been willing to stay, simply because the idea of leaving was something he could barely consider. Besides, he had his brother and sister to watch over, even if they were faring better in that pack than he was. But the flow of time brings change, and now Javan found himself in a situation that he'd never thought would happen. How did one ask to join a pack? Surely it must be instinctual; lone wolves did it all the time. Should he hunt for the Alpha, or summon him? Javan didn't fancy the idea of wandering the forests of Shyia, and besides, if he came across other lower-ranked members of Airila, what would happen? Would they taunt him, or snap at him, or drive him away for being a lone wolf? Snorting, Javan shook his furry head to rid himself of these thoughts. He was in a bad mood, disliking what he was going to have to do. He was used to a rigid structure of power, and in his mind, asking for a place in a pack was the weakest thing you could do. And then he'd have to contend with being the lowest-ranked wolf. Could he avoid causing the same situation to happen again? If he was picked on, would he start the cycle once more and deal with the bullying in the only way he knew how?

There was only one way to find out, and Javan knew he was putting off what he needed to do. If you dislike this pack, you can always leave, he told himself. Assuming that Toiro accepts you, of course. The grey wolf gathered his resolve, and he flung back his head and cried out to the stars. The long, sad howl of a lone wolf echoed through the trees and reached the mountains in the distance. Closing his jaws, Javan settled himself to wait, his senses alert for the approach of another wolf. He schooled his features into an expression of unconcern and willed his body language to be passive. No matter what happened, even if he was the lowest subordinate, he would not become the same wolf he was in his last pack.

[Toiro]

Stormy grey eyes blinked open from sleep, and fluffy ears swivelled forwards just in time to hear the end of a summoning call. It sounded as if it had come from a fair distance away, down somewhere in the forest, and it definitely wasn’t one of his wolves. Slowly, the alpha rose up into a seated position from the smooth slab of rock he’d been sleeping on.

It was winter, but yet again he found himself sleeping outside, not in the safety of the dens as he should be. But even though Shyia was the coldest territory on Anikira, and the air tonight was cold enough that he could see his breath, the grey wolf liked cooler temperatures and had thick fur which protected him from the worst of it. However, the fact remained that winter had begun, and soon even the arctics would be feeling the chill. So perhaps he was taking his last chance to spend the night outside before everybody was all cooped up in the dens. They would certainly have plenty of time to get to know each other once the first snowstorms of the season had arrived, so having a little break now wouldn’t hurt.

Toiro yawned as he stretched his muscles, preparing for the trip to meet this wolf who was howling. It didn’t take long before he was wide awake and once his muscles were sufficiently warmed up, the large grey leaped down from the rock and landed at a run. He really didn’t mind being woken up from his sleep; not if there was a possible new member in the territory. He didn’t want them to have to wait too long, and he was eager to meet them. Besides, he enjoyed the exercise, the adrenaline quickly taking over as he raced down the mountainside, dodging between the trees and boulders that he knew so well by now.

The alpha didn’t intend to lose any of his wolves this winter, but it seemed to happen every year whether he liked it or not, and they couldn’t risk being small and vulnerable, especially with the rumours that Descai had expanded their borders once already – apparently into Kamari, a territory claimed by the Haishin pack. He wondered how much truth there was to that. Airila had had an alliance with Haishin, so surely the alphess would have asked for his help if something was the matter, or at least let him know? Unless they had all been killed during Descai’s attack…? If that was the case, then Descai was even worse than the Airila alpha had feared. It was possible though – he hadn’t heard a single word from Haishin in a very long time.

But Toiro shook his head, dispelling the thoughts from his mind. He didn’t know for sure what had happened, and shouldn’t jump to conclusions based on a few sentences from a passing loner. He might need to check it out, although he doubted that any attacks would be taking place during the middle of winter. Anyway, now was not the time.

Toiro slowed down to a steady trot as he neared the place where the wolf had howled from, allowing his body to cool down a little from his exertion before he made his appearance. If the loner had remained where he was, he must be fairly close, so now he just needed to pinpoint the wolf’s location. The large grey lowered his muzzle and inhaled, taking in the familiar smells of the forest. Last night’s rain, a small hare, the plant he had learned to recognise as chamomile, and ah yes, there it was; the scent of a lone wolf.

From there it wasn’t too hard to follow the trail and after a short while he spotted the other grey through the trees. The alpha’s posture was strong but relaxed as he approached; not overly dominant but not submissive either. He had nothing to fear in this situation, but he was by no means one to pull rank. No, Airila was not a typical wolf pack in that they valued loyalty out of friendship rather than brute force.

“Greetings.” The younger wolf wagged his tail a little, showing that he was friendly. “My name is Toiro, and I am the alpha of these lands. What may I do for you?”



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[Deleted]

A quiet wind stirred through the forest, causing leaves to rustle and the occasional branch to creak. There was no other noise to be heard, save for the sound of his own reluctant breathing. His expressive brown eyes watched a small patch of sky through the leafy canopy overhead, in which the crescent moon could be seen dashing in and out of the glowing clouds. As time went on and nothing happened, his wary body began to relax a little bit, lean muscles unable to hold the tension for long. He was quite exhausted, but he remained standing, not trusting his safety enough to sit or lie down. His ears pricked towards the slightest noise, and he could not stop himself from glancing over his shoulder occasionally, convinced that someone was sneaking up to attack him. He was intruding on someone else's territory and he had every reason to assume that he would be treated with hostility, so better to be safe than sorry. This wasn't something he'd ever done before, and he didn't know how lone wolves wishing to join a pack were usually treated. He expected that he would have to be interrogated, snapped at, or at least critically examined before being allowed to join Airila. Maybe he would have to pass a test of some sort, to prove his worth. That was how it went in his last pack, at least - it had been large, everyone needed to be fed, and the Alpha liked to make sure that those who joined could pull their weight. Javan couldn't really guess at the number of wolves in Airila, but he hadn't encountered many scents during his journey into the forest. Perhaps this was an area that nobody really frequented.

Thankfully, he had not long to wait; the quick, light patter of paws on grass soon caught his attention, and he lowered himself towards the ground, his tail curled beneath him in mild submission. He didn't know who was responding to his call, but whoever it was likely belonged to this pack, and he had no wish to make a bad first impression. Anxiously he continued to listen, body poised for action in case there were more wolves coming his way. Some alphas like to bring an army with them before they met newcomers, to intimidate the lone wolf. It didn't seem the case here, however; Javan could only detect the one wolf. The grey male rounded a bend in the trees and came into view, his bearing authoritative but not overly domineering. Javan allowed himself to sink a little bit further into a passive crouch, acknowledging the other wolf's higher rank. There was no bristling or showing of teeth, so Javan took that to be a good sign. Even so, he was extremely wary as he watched the other grey approach. He had no doubt in his ability to defend himself if trouble arose. His unease stemmed from the fact that he did not wish to make his new start with hostility. All these years of anger and hatred had taken their toll on him, and molded him into such a figure that no longer remembered how to get along with other wolves. He was treading into new territory in many senses of the word, and he was afraid, so afraid of screwing something up and offending someone he shouldn't. And he couldn't afford to waste this chance with Airilia - winter was here and he needed a pack. Small game was becoming scarcer and leaner as the season progressed, and soon he would be hard-pressed to keep himself fed on a diet of rabbits and squirrels.

The stranger greeted him kindly, his posture and tail wag showing Javan that he meant no trouble. The older wolf's ears shot forward in surprise, then he inwardly growled at himself for acting like such a PTSD victim. Still, he could not bring himself to fully trust that there was no threat intended; his senses were stretched to their limit, searching the woods in case there were other wolves coming. In the meantime, he felt it prudent to relax his posture, allowing his body to return to a normal standing position. "Well met, Toiro," Javan acknowledged, trying to be friendly. Though most of his encounters with other wolves had been hostile scenarios, there'd been a few exceptions. He did know how to converse without being aggressive, he just wasn't always good at it. "My name is Javan, and I would like to join your pack if you have room for others." His tri-colored tail swished back and forth hopefully. "I am an adequate hunter, and I also have a lot of experience fighting other wolves. I was sort of a ... warrior, in my last pack." Well, it wasn't far from the truth. He just spent most of his time defending himself from them, or conquering them, rather than fighting another pack.

Hopefully, Toiro wouldn't ask what he meant when he'd ambiguously listed himself as a warrior in his last home. Javan was already chastising himself for that slip of the tongue; the last thing he needed was to establish himself immediately as a fighter. Combat was what he knew best, but that didn't mean he should be reforging himself as the same character he was in his last pack. With nothing more to say, Javan contented himself with awaiting the Alpha's reply, feeling encouraged by the fact that he'd been reasonably polite to Toiro. It seems that he did remember how to be nice, when the situation called for it. He wasn't inherently mean, he was just in the habit of putting on an aggressive mask to help him survive in a world that was harsh towards him. Though he still wasn't quite ready to let go of it yet, it would start to fade away in time, when he began to realize that he didn't need it anymore.

[Toiro]

Toiro nodded as he watched the grey wolf before him, pleased that he seemed to be polite and relatively friendly (though obviously not as bouncy as Cherie). He introduced himself as Javan, but didn’t waste time on idle chatter, and instead expressed his interest in joining their ranks. The alpha’s tail immediately picked up speed behind him; he loved welcoming new wolves into his family.

He wondered if the Airila pack had a reputation in the loner lands; certainly Javan didn’t seem to have wandered upon their lands by chance and seemed to clearly know what he wanted. Toiro’s ears perked up as he described the skills that he could offer to Airila. He had been a warrior? Warriors were always wanted; even though Airila was a peaceful pack it needed to be able to defend itself if something did happen. “Yes, we are indeed in need of warriors…”

There had been rumours of Descai expanding their borders, and now that Haishin and Isata had been disbanded they had no allies and had no one but themselves to rely on if they were attacked. Toiro wondered whether he should search out some of the other packs and attempt to make alliances with them, but he really didn’t want to leave Shyia again. He would much rather spend his time strengthening the bonds with pack members who he knew he could trust than with distant packs.

A cool breeze ruffled through the wolf’s thick fur as he contemplated his decision, reminding him that it was winter. They probably needed hunters the most during these winter months, so Toiro was glad to hear that Javan was an adequate hunter as well as being a fighter. Now the question was about his personality. To the alpha, the other wolf seemed a little closed off, but that might just be the pressure of joining a pack. Anyway, he was polite, which was always a good thing, and didn’t seem aggressive or crazy. The finer aspects of his personality could only be discovered over time but for now, Toiro was confident that this wolf would be a good addition to the pack.

The alpha drew himself up a bit as he announced his decision. “Well then, Javan, I am pleased to accept you into the Airila pack.” Now all that was left was to get Airila’s newest warrior acquainted with the other members and show him around the territory. Their pack had grown a lot since the summer, and Toiro felt that they were now a good size – large enough not to be easily overrun by other packs but small enough that they could get to know each other. The larger grey smiled, hopeful for the future, and eager to get to know this new wolf.



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