Packlands

[W_Smack]

((OOC: Post here once you've been accepted into the pack.))

[W_Smack]

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Well, that was it. I was alphess. These were my lands. A strange feeling swept through me and I couldn't surpress the shiver that ran up and down my spine as I gazed down at the seafront that lay below the hills where my boys and I now lived. Well, at least it was a nice, comfortable home. The wind was a bit strong sometimes, but my heavy white coat kept me warm enough. And there was certainly enough to eat and drink. Perhaps I could actually prosper here after all?
My thoughts were interrupted as a small, reddish-black pup tumbled through the brush around my snow-white paws and landed before me, looking ornery. "You'd better watch where you're going, young man," I scolded him. I reached my muzzle down and ruffled his soft, puppy stomach fur playfully.

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"Aw, mom!" Teledamus whined. "We were just playing." He giggled as his mother started to rub his stomach and he rolled over so that she couldn't reach his sweet spot any longer. He barked playfully at her and turned so that he could face her. "I really like our new home, mommy," he muttered, his gray-blue eyes looking up at his mother's matching ones earnestly.

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Suddenly, a second pup bounded through the leafy brush. "Geez, where'd you go?" he asked, rushing forward to nudge his brother jokingly. He sat his small, furry rump down with a sigh and looked up at his mother as well. His eyes were a soft, almost unnatural green, compared to his brother's.

I shivered once more as I looked down into the eyes of my second son. He looked so much like his father. Every time I gazed into those sweet eyes of his I was reminded of that fateful night when my life changed forever. I wagged my tail as I gazed upon my two sons. They were high energy, sure - but they were fun to have around. I would never be bored or lonely, that was for sure. "I like our new home, too," I assured Teledamus. "And what about you, Pel?" I muttered, turning to the second pup. "You like this place, right?"

Pelops looked up at the branches of the trees around us in a discriminatory way. "Yeah, I guess," he murmured. "I mean, it's ok . . ."

Tel nipped at his brother playfully and said, "Oh, it's more than fine, you whiner! Lighten up a little bit!"

And so the two boys began nipping at each other and soon they were racing through my snowy-white legs playing a game of tag. "Boys, calm down!" I muttered, chuckling despite myself. My grin only grew as I watched them playing. Yes, we could definitely live here without troubles. And maybe when a pack was in motion I could go and find Jake . . . I wondered if he was making a good life for himself now? The Gods above know how much I've screwed my own up since we parted ways.

[aerandir]

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The varg's deep breaths were masked by the four hares he held within his jowls. Heavy frame moving gracefully over the sandy soil, large paws thudding the soft earth as he moved along the stream through the hills. His nares were filled with the scent of the prey in his jowls, but he could just barely scent Cassandra and her sons. So, the russet dragga followed their trail, making his way into the central part of Sunny Palm Tree Hills. It wasn't long before he gently turned right, making his way around a hill and coming upon the trio of mother and pups.

Adamon slowed to a walk as he approached his Alphess and her pups. When he stood before Cassandra, Tel, and Pel he gently layed down the four hares and then backed away. Each piece of fresh kill was fair sized, but there was a noticibly bigger male rabbit that the dragga had caught just for the Alphess. Still, Cassandra was expected to pick whichever she preferred, then the two pups, and then lastly himself. In most cases, the pups would have chosen last, but this brujo felt that it would be impolite of him to choose before his leader's progeny did. So, he sat back and waited patiently, silently observing the other three to see their reactions to the sucess of his quick hunt.

[W_Smack]

I still couldn't help but jump in surprise as the newest member of the pack moved through the trees towards me. My ears laid against my head and I almost let out a growl before I realized who it was and how stupid I was acting. I scolded myself angrily - were my nerves ever going to stop spiking like that? I smiled, trying to recover quickly, and nodded to the Dragga in greeting. "Adamon," I muttered. "You've returned quicker than I had expected. And I see that your hunt went well, too." I gazed upon the kill, my eyes beginning to glaze over slightly at the smell of the dead rabbits before me. I smiled to Adamon, happy to see that this Dragga had manners and was going to wait for me to select my food first.
The blood lust began to take over my body and I quickly snatched up the largest rabbit that I could see in the bunch. I lay down and was about to start ripping into my meal before I caught myself. "Thank you, Adamon. This looks delicious!" I added. And with that, I dug into carcass of the dead male rabbit and ate my fill.

The whole while his mother had been speaking to the Dragga and selecting her rabbit from the lot, Pel had been gazing at the meat hungrily. His tongue practically dragged on the ground as he drew closer and closer to the food. As soon as his mother began to eat, he leaped forward, grabbing the closest rabbit to him and shook his head, dragging it away from the others so that he could eat by himself.

Tel shook his head as he watched his brother. "No manners," he muttered, smiling and shruging to Adamon. He took the smaller of the remaining rabbits, for he wasn't extremely hungry, and sat close to his mother while he picked quietly at his food.

[aerandir]

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The russet dragga watched his Alphess and her cubs intently, his facade void of emotion as they each chose their meal. After Tel had picked up the smallest of the two rabbits left, Adamon stood up and picked up the last piece of fresh kill. Turning around, his heavy frame drifted a few yards away before settling under a well sized palm tree. It's thick, emerald leaves stretched far out over the sandy soil, and the pack member of Sunny Palm Tree Hills lay down underneath it. He moved about for a little bit, getting comfortable before finally pulling the rabbit between his two front paws. In an instant his pearly canines were ripping into the fresh meat, the warm blood coating his maw and chest as he ate.

In moments, Adamon was done with his meal, and he sat content under the palm tree. His golden orbs scanned his unfamiliar surroundings, but they quickly assessed them and pushed the scenes into his memory. This was his new home, and he would learn every inch of it so that he might better hunt and protect it. It was a long time before the large brujo turned his attention to Cassandra and her two boys, and by now he was curious about a few things.
" So, M'Lady, why did you choose these lands as your home? Surely you must have some reason as to why this terrain had your eye? "

[W_Smack]

At first I didn't hear Adamon's question. I was still finishing picking the juicy nutrition off of the remaining rabbit bones that lay between my two paws. I was doused in blood, but so was the Dragga before me. I perked my ears and let my soft blue-gray eyes settle on him as I continued trying to get some of the last marrow out of the rabbit bones.
"Why these lands," I muttered, slightly to myself. "Well, I love the beaches here in the east. I couldn't even think to live in any other kind of terrain or land." A smile creased my pinkish paw as I gazed up at the trees and land around me. "And these hills were just so beautiful. Sure, the sea is nice, but I like the . . . the shelter of the trees, I guess. And the dunes were just to strange and lonely. I didn't want to have that for my boys growing up."
I turned and smiled to the two pups. Tel had finished eating, but Pel was knawing on the bones of his meal playfully. I turned back to look at Adamon again and asked, "Why did you come here?"

Tel smiled up to his mother when he heard her referencing him, but he remained silent. His gray-blue eyes also settled on Adamon expectantly, waiting for his answer. Suddenly, a thought ran through his little head: would he live in these hills forever? He knew that his mother would pass the leadership onto him since he was the older and wiser of the two brothers. Tel's eyes shifted to his twin brother who was still knawing on the rabbit bones before him. Pel was too antsy. He would never stay here for the rest of his life.
In two years, Pel would be gone. What would Tel do then? He liked these lands, sure, but he also liked the prospect of being able to travel when he grew older. Suddenly, his verizons seemed to shrink right before his eyes and he looked at the bloodied ground between his paws.

Pel noticed the odd look in his brother's eyes and was unsettled by it. He stood and shook his head, making his whole body teeter slightly. He stumbled towards his twin brother and pressed his redish nose into his soft belly fur. "What's up with you?" he mumbled. "You look depressed." His unnatural, green eyes twinkled playfully as he watched Tel. He could never stay serious for long.

[W_Smack]

Adamon was now gone. Disappeared. Like so many other Draggas in my life. I couldn't say that I was surprised - I guess that I had actually been prepared for it since the day I had met him. Sure, he had seemed nice and respectful enough, but I knew that there was something to be weary of.
And now we were alone. Just my boys and I. They were all I had, after all, but now that they were growing older, my anxiety that they, too, would desert me was slowly growing with them.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Pelops complained.

"Mommy, I'm tired."

Evening must be coming, for the boys were beginning to whine for food and sleep. "I taught you how to hunt rabbit just the other day. Why can't you boys go out and find your own dinner?"

"I'm too tired, Mommy!" Teledamus whined again.

I sighed slightly, but my blue eyes showed only love for the two pups at my side. "Alright," I finally said. "I'll help you, but next time I want to see what you can catch on your own. So we set out through the foliage that was part of our home. I knew the trees and plants well, and I knew where the small animals liked to make their homes and where the good berries grew. I guess that I could be a good leader, but I would never know. Who would ever want to come live with some crazy crone and her two little brats?