Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:30 pm

Hour Glass:

Zeit laughed, enjoying herself a bit, feeling more relaxed then she had in a long time. And it helped that her alpha was smiling as well, it meant everything was running smoothly, and the only had to think about what would occur later that night. She grinned to TOby, glad to see the Omega had relaxed a bit as well. "Of course he'll be here, I'll talk to him as soon as I can" he replied

But once the calls were heard, she was instantly serious. She nodded to her Alpha, moving away from him as she pulled off her top shift, revealing her werewolf clothing, as she had been on a run before she had run into Kratos. From the calls, this would be a critical situation for the pack. 

"It sounded like that new wolf, Ulric I think, was calling" she replied, explaining the call to Toby, "Jackie and Logan seem to be getting ready for a fight." She looked to her omega, raising a brow, but not reprimanding him. "We should follow, as back-up" she replied, "even if the Alpha can handle it by himself, it's always nice to have at least a second pair of paws helping out."

She quickly shifted, gathering her human clothing and typing them to her arm so she could run. "And if you're coming," she said, though part of her tone seemed to almost be teasing, "you'd better keep up." The she wolf turned back to the origin of the calls, darting into the woods.

Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:30 pm

Aim:

Chime smirked at Theo's reaction, so he did say what she thought she heard.. Seeing he leaned over closer to the fence, she silently blended closer, listening to his hushed tones before straighting, widening her eyes in an attempt to make herself look more innocent, 

although her smirk remained, subtracting quite a bit from the look. 

Looking towards the door, her eyes got even wider as Logan came stomping out. She lifted her hands to mouth, suppressing a gasp, watching as the female grabbed Ulric. 

Wait, who's safety? 

The thought only crossed her mind a split second before Jackie came tearing through the door, remaining Chime of a half crazed person. Finding herself backing away from the chaotic scene that play before her, she looked over to Ulric for support, and as if she wasn't unnerve already, it really frighten her when he wasn't there, and his howl came right after.

She couldn't help herself from moving closer to the fence, thus moving closer to Theo, she heard the alpha's snarls, though stayed 'hidden' in the open, at this point she didn't know if she rather be out here with this mess going on, or in the pit with the prisoner..

Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:30 pm

Dez:

Logan had been content to march her way along, going nowhere in specific, only away from the others in order to let out some steam; she had quiet enough of dealing with these people and their confusing ways for the day. She asked questions and was reprimanded, she attempted at joking and was scorned at, she was kind to another only to have her little bit of "territory" pushed into by some strange, nosy woman who she couldn't make heads or tails of! Now more than ever, Logan wished she could be in her little village where these sort of confusing interactions rarely occurred, and you could go about your simple life without complications. Certainly she'd rather brave a lifetime of the harsh winters this little village in the middle of nowhere endured than put up with this nonsense. On top of it all, she had partly just begun to think being around these wolves wasn't so completely terrible after all. 

A howl carried on through the surrounding area, though it was nothing of significance to Logan (or so she was mistaken). It seemed the sound was still echoing within her mind, slowly fading out, when all of the sudden the alpha appeared out of what seemed like nowhere. In posture and expression, she could be compared to an animal who had just caught wind of it's predator watching, and became as still as stone in hopes to keep from being pursued.

Among the many thoughts and emotions going through Logan's mind in those few seconds, anger, admiration and a healthy dose of fear were the most prominent. And how could you not admire such a beast? If only for a moment, Logan tasted an envy for the ability to control so much power. 

This sort of shock induced awe only lasted for a breath worth of time before the deep hatred and fear, that which had been so deeply instilled into her by her previous experiences, gripped at her mind - amplified by the sharp, fixed stare of the alpha. 

"-if you step out of line than you will get what you deserve from me."

The words surfaced in her mind, mangled memories of her first encounter with the alpha, though she knew she wasn't the one who summoned them nor did she want to hear them. Instantly after, that slipping feeling began to take place, although she fought it with every ounce of willpower she could muster up at the moment. 

A few steps she moved forward, until she was but a pace from Kratos. She did this not in a fearless manner, no, but rather she did it knowing her choices were few to begin with. "You, alpha! How could you keep me with others so unlike me and untrusting.. and not expect this to happen?! You are naive!" although the day was yet to end, already she felt her werewolf coming upon her, gaining control with each passing moment. Clinging to her humanity, she sought out the alphas own humanity within his eyes, in a last effort to ease the beast inside her if only for a while.

Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:31 pm

Indy:

Jackie seemed beyond the point of reasoning. Her eyes starred distantly off into the tree line, but without the sense of actually seeing any of it. Ulric came charging past her in his wolf form; she didn’t as much as blink. To Ulric’s demand, she processed it blankly; she recognized the words, she recognized the voice, but anything else was beyond her. Her mind was elsewhere and nothing on this world seemed to matter to her.

She was in her element now. She could almost taste Logan on the wind and it excited her. Shewould get her. There would be no pesky emotions, no annoying passersby who insisted on peace. It would just be them. Jackie vaguely reflected on what it would be like to get revenge and it made her feel warm.

But now the current dilemma was how to get rid of Ulric. He was an annoying passerby. He would get in her way and stop her and she could not let that happen. On the other hand, Ulric was not child’s play. He was a large hulking werewolf that was strong, faster, and more adept in the forest than her. Jackie’s only remaining resource was her mind. And her mind was telling her to wait.

She waited. Waited some more. Time ticked slowly. Impatience tickled at her skin. But she still waited. And then—

Flash.

A spark of red—Kratos she was certain—flashed from the forest. Ulric took pause. He was weighing the situation. He was likely more focused on Logan and Kratos more than herself. And, fortunately for Jackie, he was still a distance ahead of her and he had his back to her; he could not react immediately.

The moment was right. Without any hesitation, Jackie charged into the forest. Yet oddly, it was in the opposite direction of Logan. Even Jackie knew better than to attack Logan with the alpha hunkering right in front of her. The woods seemed promising; she could wait for as long as she needed without the presence of others to interfere with her plans.

----

Theo was only too aware that Chime was watching him. Theo was no master of social etiquette (or even, particularly, decent at it), but Chime hadn’t made it difficult for his failings. She could see her scoot closer and closer and her neck craning forward like some overly curious giraffe.

Theo hated it. As far as he was concerned, Levi was “his friend” and “his words”; what he said to him should be in confidence. Certainly no snoopy ease dropping girls should be butting in. And, on top of that, this snoopy ease-dropping girl had come in on a particularly embarrassing moment. If she told someone—

Theo was saved by the Jackie-Logan fiasco. That was significantly more confusing, and fortunately, outshone his own internal struggle. For the brief moment the two went storming, screaming, and in general terrorizing werewolf central, time seemed to stand still elsewhere. Everyone seemed to stop; even Ulric was at a loss for words when Logan decided she preferred to lift him like a ragdoll. 

The madness simmered as fast as it had lept to flames. Kratos had seen to that. Jackie and Logan were gone from the immediate vicinity and no longer screaming. Now it was just Levi, Chime, and himself trying to understand what had just transpired.

Theo waited for a while, hoping the others had an excellent explanation. They didn’t. He waited some more. Nothing. So Theo found that role passed on to himself.

He cleared his throat. 

“They uh… really don’t like each other”

Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:31 pm

Kaqurei:

"Heh, heh, so I see," Levi chuckled awkwardly, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. He waited a moment more, but it seemed more or less quiet up there... a disturbing sort of silence, like one that might proceed a violent thunderstorm... but a silence nonetheless. Levi took a deep breath, let it out in a brief huff, winced, and took another one. "As for m'wish--it's not quite as good as yers, but it's me honest wish, and I suppose there is a wee bit of humor ta be found in it. See, I been down here all month as not much better than an oversized mongrel, sparing a few nights, and might yeh wonder why that is, then?" He gave a wry a smile and added, "All fer lack o' a shower and a set of clothes. 'Fraid I've worn this pair o' rags I got here too slack to fit much as a man--an' rolled down a mountain in 'em besides! So that's m'wish; a shower, hot or cold matters none, and a set o' clothes that'd fit me proper. That'd set me right."

He saw then Chime's form backing up against the fence, and he guessed she must have heard him since she hadn't gone off with Ulric as he had thought. Yellow eyes widened, pupils enlarged, and his ears flicked back flat against his head, his face feeling all at once hot as a dry summer's day. If not for all his jack-rabbit coloured fur, his face certainly would have blushed crimson. It was one thing to laugh with another boy at his plight of lacking basic human hygiene for a month... but that a girl had overheard? Worse still, it wasn't like she have overheard so much s she had been there the whole time. It was as good as if he had said it knowing she was there, and that bit hard at his sensibilities. He felt shamed to the dust.

Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:31 pm

May:

Ulric stood erect at the edge of the forest with his eyes and ears straight forward on Kratos. Immediately upon seeing the Alpha's expression Ulric knew that the brief message he had sent had been taken quite seriously, and he felt somewhat ashamed when he imagined what Kratos had thought.

"Uh, Kratos, I didn't mean-" Ulric spoke up from some ways behind Logan. Though the alarm hadn't been false, and indeed, Ulric had felt the need to get Kratos in on the situation, the young werewolf realized where he had made a mistake.

Yet in one glance of his bright yellow eyes the Alpha silenced his adoptive brother from admitting the error, though the ferocity in his face cooled in that moment, and Kratos did not mention it when next he spoke.

Ulric did not notice when Jackie rushed off into the forest.

*****

Kratos' bright yellow eyes were sharp and intent as he stared at Logan, his teeth bared and his hackles raised. 

For but a moment he glanced behind her, barely taking his eyes off the outsider when Ulric spoke, and then they were again firmly affixed upon her. The fierce expression about the mighty beast cooling like an ember out of fire, though his face not altogether forgiving. Then came his deep powerful voice like the breath of a lion through the lips and teeth of a wolf.

"Welcome to the world in which you live. Not everyone will act, and think, like you." Said the Alpha, and then he turned from Logan and released two great bellows out toward the rest of his pack, more particularly toward Jackie whom had fled from view just then.

His voice was a firm command to all to come into the clearing, else he turn from all other matters to retrieve the wanderer.

****

Not too far off, the turquoise gaze of one such wanderer lifted and a black striped face debated the warning...

Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:31 pm

Dez:

Long after the alpha had broken his stare, Logan kept her own eyes upon him, violet eyes pinned on his figure. It wasn't until after he made his calls that she finally turned away. While it was safe to say she was no longer on the verge of changing, she was hardly satisfied with the reply she was given. And while an almost sarcastic response tugged at the back of her tongue (she thought it would be clever to compare talking to the alpha to talking to a tree), she remained silent. 

Now facing the opposite direction of the alpha, she glanced up to Ulric and clenched her fists. Suddenly she began marching towards him, her expression firm. Stopping in front of him in a mid stride sort of position, with one foot extended behind her and her other knee bent, she shoved a finger at the man and at that moment looked like she she might have been seeking to unleash any leftover anger upon him! 

"Don't shame yourself, little alpha." she muttered, face still firm. "It could have gone worse." now easing up, she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "How do I explain this? Your alpha it toonaive to understand." somehow she must have seen Ulric as the smarter of the two, likely due to the fact she had mainly seen the brutish side of Kratos thus far. "In Blackridge, we don't get along well and resolve conflict with fighting, but we respect each others space, so, I'm not used to this. I know I can't fight here, so I'm trying to avoid it, but it's not easy." she admitted, looking away. Though her eyes now shifted up to Ulric, and once again her face became firm, though also questioning, "Do you understand?" she asked, cocking a brow as she did so. If this failed, surely she would stop trying to explain her thought process to these daft wolves. 

Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:32 pm

Indy:

Jackie tensed as soon as Kratos howled. 

Already her plan was falling apart. She had intended to hide and wait while the others had been distracted so she may seek her revenge, but the alpha had likely noticed her disappearance. Or, if he hadn’t, he would if she didn’t show up.

As much as Jackie professed insolence to the sight of authority and disrespect to commands, she knew disobeying this direct order wouldn’t go without consequence. If Kratos had said “please, come if you it suites you” she wouldn’t have come. But he hadn’t. The way he had “said it” had transcended human language and her human mind. Something inside of her was rebelling at disregarding the alpha. It wanted her to follow faithfully and obediently. She must follow unless she wished to fight him, which she did not.

Until now Jackie had never completely comprehended how much she had changed since she was human. Several months ago and it wouldn’t have mattered what the overgrown furball had howled. She would have walked the other way. It disturbed her. But it disturbed her more to think this part of her had always been there, that some part of her had always held this regard for authority and it had simply shifted to Kratos…

Reluctantly, she walked away from the forest. She joined the pack and eyed them silently. She didn’t want to be here, but it wasn’t a matter of choice…

She eyed Logan defiantly, as if daring her to make fun of her obedience. At least then she would have half an excuse to attack her. 

----

Theo heard Kratos’ call in an instant. He was more confused than intimidated by it. He regarded it with a shrug.

“Huh… guess I gotta go,” he glanced quickly in Levi’s direction,”But don’t worry, I’ll be back as soon as I can. And uh maybe… I could try and get you a new pair of clothes. I don’t know about the shower… but I can try!”

Theo looked cheerfully down at the pit, oblivious to the fact that most of the pack was certain that Levi was a prisoner. 

He glanced at Chime. “Shall we?”

Quote from Indy on August 22, 2018, 1:35 pm

May:

The face of the young werewolf fell blank as two opposing feelings raced through his body and attempted to direct his next course of action. 

The first thought that had crossed Ulric's mind when he saw Logan turn toward him was to escape as quickly as possible lest by some means he become the target of her wrath, and once again find the collar of his shirt held tightly in her grip! The second thought was more instinctual and likely less intelligent. He decided he would stand his ground, for the stranger as of yet had no authority to oppose his rank and if he ran he would certainly entice the instincts of a werewolf to take chase.

What Logan said took Ulric by surprise, and he couldn't help but mutter an echo of her words in reply. "Little alpha?..." He said, and observed her tone and body language change as she went on to explain herself.

Ulric listened and his features softened as he realized Logan's genuine frustration. Indeed he understood, for he himself was far from the familiar people and places of his youth; although he did not show it in the same way, he too had been faced with many frustrations during the past month.

"Yes..." He said after a moment. "I, too, am a long ways from my home. It is not easy for me either - many of this pack's customs are foreign to me. So, yes.. I do understand." 

Ulric had felt the need to continue and speak openly with Logan, but at that moment Kratos had turned around and an obvious displeasure could be seen on the Alpha's face.

******

After turning away from Logan, Kratos had stood firm on the road leading to the new dens and had watched for Jackie's return. He could hear Zeit and Toby coming from a short distance behind and he knew that they would arrive momentarily. Then came Logan's voice directed toward Ulric, and the Alpha's eyes became suddenly sharp. His ears turned back toward her and his hackles raised slightly over his broad shoulders.

Jackie returned to the clearing, and briefly the Alpha acknowledged her with a tilt of his head in something of a bow before he turned around toward Logan.

"My brother is not one of authority here, and your complaints to him will not be well heard." The words that came in a deep, rumbling voice very near to a growl from behind Logan were the first ever uttered by the Alpha that hinted at any form of resentment toward his adoptive brother. 

"You are here for one reason, and that is on account of a debt to the one whose life you nearly stole." Kratos said, his eyes glinting out like shards of glass from beneath his brow. Then he rose up on his legs and stretched a massive paw out toward the clearing and the gathered werewolves. "Everyone is here for a reason. Whether it be for self-understanding or the company of others who know their secret burden, they are welcome. Their blood is my own as long as they are here and anyone who sheds one drop of it shall be met with my wrath and placed at my mercy!"

A deep growl rumbled from within the Alpha's chest and his massive paws were brought down into tight fists. His voice had risen a great deal, and still he did not permit Logan to say anything in return. "You are alive because you cannot control it, for had you been able and done the same deed I would have reclaimed the blood of my pack member beneath the Moon's face! I admit my faults freely, but you are unjustified in proclaiming them here when you, yourself, are guilty of the same! Dare you call me naive when you cannot control half of your own being and have not even begun to comprehend the world of which you are a part!"

The Alpha suddenly threw himself down on his paws and bashed the earth with the weight of his shoulders! Dirt rose in a brief cloud and the grass was torn from the root away from the massive beast! 

The inner-monster each pack member knew well could be seen clearly in the Alpha's eyes for the first time, where in all other instances its existence had never been so visibly shown. It was for the sake of the others that Kratos let it be known now; to his pack he would ever behave as a gentle giant, but to those that threatened them, he would become most terrible of foes!

Now with his eyes fixed upon Logan and all others silent, the Alpha's head lifted and his eyes softened. His breathing relaxed a great deal and he lifted his ears, a gesture bidding Logan to speak and be heard of him to make her position known.

The monster had faded back into the depths and the great black werewolf changed from a coat of crimson ash to the stature of a man, whom once had been kneeling, now stood to his full height. His clothes conformed perfectly to his changed stature, though he wore no footwear and his feet were bare.